The Ramble: The Challenge To Be Free

The Ramble by Jim Carpenter, Acrylic on Paper, 10.25" x 8.25" 

"The pedestrian is the highest and most mighty of beings...he is happy in the company of his own mind, he wanders detached, wise and merry, godlike."- Tom Hodgkinson

Enjoying The Journey

It is day 5 of Leslie Saeta's 30 Day Challenge. I am one day behind. My focus, however is on enjoying the experience of painting. So, so what if I'm one day behind? 

Here's what happened today. I had a painting that I was developing yesterday for completion today. And I finished it at about 2 p.m. Great! I'd be early with my post today. But there was a problem: I really didn't like the painting very much. Although I think the painting might have found an approving audience, to me it was stiff and empty. I'd have nothing to write about it come blogging time. So, I decided to turn to my old standby of alcohol (the rubbing kind) and paper towels, and I began to scrub it out. Talk about a feeling of being free! I was throwing the painting under the table and starting over. Almost. 

Erasing it was a risk, but it was a risk worth taking. I discovered that I really do love the feel of erasing what isn't working and watching a surface full of possibilities emerge. This painting looks nothing like the other. It's half the size and has 3 times the number of figures in it.  But this is the painting that was on he paper before I knew it; it was the painting that I needed to uncover.

The experience of painting this was easily identified as terrifically satisfying. Although I was not certain of what the painting actually meant, everything I was feeling was telling me that the painting was worth painting because I had really enjoyed it. The meaning would come later. 

"For the creative spirit, the act of walking harmonizes work and play."- Tom Hodginson