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I have:
Put up a whole bunch of nails around the house to keep my umpteen unfinished masterpieces away from cat claws.
Assembled a pile of canvasses all ready to go in various sizes. Having the frames sitting around in the hayloft for years was obviously one of those times when hoarding is quite ok! And enough canvas for about 30 pictures.
Ready, steady, go!
Well, apart from the annoying realization that I can no longer use the staple gun. My hands are too sore and weak to press it all the way in, leaving the tacks to fall out completely or sticking out of the board halfway. I had to call in an assistant after doing just one, and a very poor job of it. 😦 I don’t know if it’s just because I clipped the hind hoofs of my Arabian the day before, also very hard on the hands when you’re an amateur (and have really small hands to a very large tool). Or if I need to switch to pre-framed $$$ canvas or paper or boards in the future. Didn’t make it any easier that I’d decided to try gallery mounting with the tacks at the back, rather than along the edges like I used to do. Tricky!
I also found some photos of some of my first paintings, acrylic on very large watercolour paper 50×75 cm. Not a complete collection unfortunately, and I suppose I should scan these. You might say I ought to use that until I improve my skills, but I do like canvas. And well, I have the canvas but no paper…. Also you can keep painting over canvasses more times! 😉
we actually had this in the dining room for years. When we had one… 100×150 cm or something painted on an old bedsheet.
Funny thing is: I definitely think my taste has improved as well as my skill in the years not painting – INSIDE MY HEAD. This means I have a lot more pressure now, because obviously my muscle skill hasn’t improved one bit in the meantime, but I know I won’t be happy with what I did then. Some of the subject matter yes – but not the execution. There’s maybe I few that I still like and some I’d just as soon paint right over.
It’s not that I have a lack of projects at the moment, I do have a list of things I want to work on, so I don’t technically need a stream of new ideas coming in right now, that are not related to those projects (but if they come, they will be registered of course, can’t stop the flow).
But I still have trouble with the intuitive, playful aspect, just “closing down logic and see what my hand wants to do with a brush”. And I think that is possibly what it preventing me from aquiring the “skill” I feel I need or the ability to be happy with what I produce here and now. My brain really, really wants to know where we’re going before we even take the first step. (and keeps asking “are we there yet?”)
But I’ll keep leaning into it. Today however I have a visitor. Who is probably going to ask: “Why can’t you paint one picture at a time?”
I have absolutely no idea what I had in mind when I did this decades ago. But Birdie wanted to know how I intended to use my watercolour paper.
Ikke flere undskyldninger
Så er der banket søm i alle ledige vægge for at beskytte mine halvfærdige skilderier fra kattene. Jeg har samlet en masse lærreder, nogen gange er det en fordel IKKE at have oprydningsmani, for der lå jo lige en hel stak rammer på høloftet og bare ventede på jeg gik i gang igen! Der er jo for en formue i materialer… Ellers kunne man jo male på kraftigt papir, men sådan noget har jeg faktisk ikke på lager i stor størrelse.
Desværre var mine hænder for ømme og svage til at bruge clipsemaskinen. Håber det kun er fordi jeg klippede hove på den ene hest i går, for jeg var nødt til at bede om hjælp efter bare 1 lærred, som i øvrigt ligner noget der er løgn på bagsiden.
Jeg fandt også en stak fotos af mine første malerier (under en oprydningsrunde 😉 ), desværre ikke alle. Jeg har helt klart ændret smag i mellemtiden og forventer nok også en noget bedre kvalitet i udførelsen, hvilket jo er tåbeligt, for mine hænder har jo ikke udviklet deres kunnen undervejs.
Jeg har stadig lidt svært ved at give slip og bare lege billeder frem, og det er muligvis derfor jeg ikke er tilfreds med det jeg producerer. Min hjerne vil åh så gerne vide, hvad vi skal frem til på forhånd. Men jeg bliver ved med at skubbe lidt til muren og fjerne en sten hist og pist, på et eller andet tidspunkt braser den vel sammen.
Colour Cottage 
Good luck with the canvases and the tacks, Pia. The tacks do look elegant, I must say. I liked your musings on “Where are we going with this..” .painting or whatever…How to overcome that? Just give in to the urge and paint,I suppose? One of my friends has prevented herself from putting brush to canvas for years because of fear it will not end up looking like the perfect vision she has jn her head….Every so often the Muse invades that headspace and tries to get hand, canvas, brush and paint working together..every time my friend succeeds expelling the Muse…No amount of advice to Play, Paint over it, Do NOT show it to anyone until you are DONE (because that Viewer will likely ask: What is that supposed to be? Plus say “Yellow and pink look terrible together”…
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I think you’re right, there only is one way and that is to DO. I hope multiple canvasses will make me less protective of “not ruining” what I’ve already started working on, but just keep going. And you’re right also about not telling or showing unfinished projects, because a frown, or having to explain things to someone who doesn’t see it anyway, sort of sucks the mojo right out of an idea.
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Hi. Lookng forward to seeing the results of your creativity! I like the bright colors and movement in your painting of the donkey… the little guy just seems to be marching along. Jane
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Thanks – I do like bright colours I must admit.
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Det lyder godt med masser af lærreder til kreative udfoldelser over det hele. Jeg håber søreme dine hænder bare er slatne fordi du har beskåret hestehove. Jeg har store, stærke hænder, men de bliver også trætte, når jeg sætter ny plast på min dome med sådan en hæfteklammepistol. Mit trick er at holde venstre hånd – og min kropsvægt – ovenpå spidsen af hæftepistolen og så skyde med højre, Så render pistolen selv ingen vegne og min vægt hjælper med at drive klammerne ind.
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PS: Ugleungerne og jeg beundrede dit æselmaleri, de elsker sådan noget som de kalser det Zorro-noget. Det eneste de undrede sig over var de prikker der er over rovfuglen nederst til venstre. Jeg mente det måtte være dine initialer eller et bomærke. Kan du være så sød at opklare det?
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Jeg har bare stemplet mit logo ovenpå, ligesom på mine fotos, det var måske ikke det mest heldige sted!
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Jeg holder jo en lærredstang med den ene hånd, så jeg har kun én tilbage til hæftepistolen. Men jeg tror jeg kan klare det ved at lægge en ekstra ramme ved siden af på bordet, som jeg stiller bagenden af pistolen på, så den er vandret, så skal jeg kun presse nedad i stedet for at klemme.
Jeg håber jeg kan komme omkring min Ih, jeg tør ikke male hvis nu jeg ødelægger det, ved at bare kunne starte et nyt lærred når jeg går i stå. Måske jeg så heller ikke er så øm om de halvfærdige mht overmaling, hvis der er rigeligt af dem?
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Av, så forstår jeg at du bliver træt i armen. Det med en ekstra ramme lyder smart, men nej hvor har du da brug for en tredje arm der. Tag det som et lille hint fra universet, Vorherre, the Force, eller hvem/hvad der nu styrer det hele og tilkald hjælp. Det er en ting, man er nødt til at lære – og det er hårdt at modtage hjælp, og endnu hårdere at bede om hjælp. Så vidt jeg har forstået dig, har du endda et par ekstra hænder under samme tag.
Angsten for at ødelægge noget har jeg i hvert fald til dels kvalt ved at overveje worst case scenario. For det meste er løsningen at starte forfra, men med større viden (måske kun om hvad man ikke bør gøre) og bedre chance for succes næste gang. Det er sjældent at Worst case scenario ender med huller i væggene eller bombede køkkener, men det er sket – i hvert fald i mit hoved – og så måtte det jo foregå udendørs på en træstub 😀 Det (sæbefabrikation med kaustisk soda) endte for øvrigt godt og uden huller i noget.
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Du har helt ret, der er ikke nogen som dør hvis jeg maler grimme billeder. Jeg ved ikke helt hvorfor det skal være så svært. Måske er det slet ikke det jeg skal, men jeg vil nu prøve lidt mere.
Heldigvis har jeg rigtig god hjælp af mine ekstra hænder, så jeg skal jo bare lære at spørge.
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Tror det handler en smule om at jeg føler jeg spilder penge/ressourcer hvis jeg ikke gør det ordentligt….
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Well this should be fun! Though I wonder if you’ve ever thought of reducing the pressure and developing skills by using cheap paper and working in a sketchbook?
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I have – but I’m not very good at working small. I tend to wave my arms about a lot once I get started. 😉
These supplies cost me money 15-20 years ago, so it’s not too bad.
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Ah well they don’t count then : D I like the idea of you waving your arms about wildly! I hope you enjoy your self.
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Hopefully I’ll eventually get to the point of showing new paintings instead of old ones (although I seem to have a larger supply of those than I actually thought I did)
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Hope you find the urge to just do and lose the fear …. as you say you can always paint over them … heres hoping you have FUN FUN FUN with your canvases
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