The Idle Challenge: Discovery, Rediscovery, and Recovery

"Real dreams are about seeing what others miss. If you have your head in the clouds, you can see the world more clearly." - Tom Hodgkinson, How to Be Idle

Reflections On The 30 Day Ramble 

What a month of painting and reading and writing and daydreaming this has been. Thanks to Leslie Saeta and her 30 Day Challenge over 1000 artists participated in a challenge to paint and write and post for 30 days. The collage image above was created on PicMonkey and was much easier than I ever expected.  The paintings are on my website now and I would be delighted if you were to take a swing by there to look at the gallery, and just click on an image to see the full painting.  

The 30 day challenge was very much a 30 day ramble, a reflective walk through the landscape of my own creative process. 

Discovery

A good reflective ramble will open one's eyes, and I discovered a number of things this time around. First of all my trusted guidebook, "How to Be Idle" was a great eye-opener. I actually didn't know what a ramble was until I read this book. And I never really thought about how weavers were in charge of their own day until manufacturers came along and became their bosses. I have a couple of people to thank for this - my friend, artist Aryana B. Landir introduced me to creativity coach Mark McGuinness who recommended I read Tom Hodgkinson's "How to Be Idle." I loved finding a quote from the book to accompany each painting and to inspire the spin of my reflection on the painting experience. Blogging, like painting, is an opportunity to reflect.

Rediscovery

It may be hard to imagine losing sight of the joy of painting, and before the challenge I was burying the joy under a whole lot of unnecessary stress. It was time for me to step back and rediscover the joy of painting for the sake of painting. What other reason could I possibly have to paint but that I enjoy it? Why not paint figures? Why not paint flowers or landscapes? Why not take a crack at non-objective abstracts? Why not collage? Why paper? Why not Yupo and Crescent Board? How about mixed media?  

Recovery? I Don't Think So.

I have enjoyed this challenge because I allowed myself not to be covered - buried - under the stress of doing. I don't want to be re-covered in the kind of stress I felt before I started the challenge - I want to continue to be the loafer, the daydreamer, the rambler, who paints because it's fun. I've uncovered the joy. No need to "re-cover!"  

Thanks for following along. I hope it was as much fun for you as it was for me.  I'll continue blogging along - not every day - but I plan on writing once a week.  

Late Day 22: An Idle Excuse, Day 23

Floral II by Jim Carpenter, Watercolor on Yupo, 26" x 20"

"And there are new enemies of leisure today." - Tom Hodgkinson

Revision Mania: What Happens When Leisure Is Under Attack!

This was painted on Day 22 - but there was no time to photograph it and post it. So here it is, sans much writing and posted on Day 23. Maybe I'll add to the post at a later date!

Briefly, this painting is the second in a series of florals I'm painting on Yupo. I will surely write more about them as I present them, but the story behind this one is that I did not start it as part of the challenge, but rather ended up totally revising a painting I painted back in March. If, back in March,  I had painted the floral on traditional watercolor paper I'd not have been able to "revise" it in the same way. Actually, I pretty much obliterated the original bouquet, and save for the vase, this is a totally different painting from what it was. That's the magic of Yupo.

Since it is a wholly new painting, I decided to put it in for Day 22, but then "Leisure" was under attack and so, now it is being posted for day 23 of the Challenge. What can I say other than, I am enjoying the challenge and painting on Yupo is a total blast!

Taking It Apart & Putting It Together

"Water Lily" by Jim Carpenter, Watermedia Collage, 9.5" x 9.5" 

"Skiving is a direct act of revolt against the arid philosophies of living that we're indoctrinated with at school and at work, the notion of suffering now, pleasure later. Well, that way of thinking is anathema to your idler. He can't wait until tomorrow." - Tom Hodgkinson

I Was Skiving Today!

Today was my day to sit the gallery, a "job" that I commit to in order to be a member of the gallery. However, I also have this 30 day challenge to deal with and I was trying to figure out how I could meet the challenge while sitting the gallery.  Painting would be out of the question. Too wet and messy. For the last few months I've been toying with doing some collage while at the gallery, but with limited success. So today, as I headed out to Melrose, I packed a carryall with tons of torn up watercolor papers and acrylic starts, and adhesive. 

I spent the good part of 3 hours of my 4 hour shift making 3 or 4 pieces.  For me, the worst part of collage is that there are a bazillion possibilities for combining papers, while the best part of collage is that I get to make something totally out of some of my favorite original pieces of paint on paper. And let's not forget to mention the fun part of tearing up paper!  Talk about revolt and rebellion!  I decided that I would just go for it and stick these pieces down when I liked what I saw. Otherwise, I'd be dillydallying. 

I'm showing 3 of the collages to you today - I think this will catch me up so that I now am up to date with the challenge and have one to spare. I can't help but think that in a way I am cheating. While the rest of my colleagues are painting away, I'm tearing up paper and gluing it down. And though it is not cheating for those who do collage all the time, for they are experts and collage is their art form, for me, a painter, it seems like... oh well, skiving is what Tom Hodgkinson calls it. In that sense, I guess one man's work can be another man's skiving! 

"Lily Pod" by Jim Carpenter, Watercolor Collage, 4.5" x 6.25"

"The Prairie" by Jim Carpenter, Watermedia Collage, 6.5" x 4.5"

You know, if it weren't for the challenge, I'd probably still be looking at these pieces of paper - all totally unglued. I'm increasingly grateful for the challenge! How about you?

The 30 Day Challenge: Cruising Day I

“Alaskan Glacier” by Jim Carpenter, Watercolor on Yupo, 9” x 12” 

To find out about purchasing the painting click here.

“It’s time to say no to jobs and yes to fun, freedom and pleasure. It’s time to be idle.”

–      TomHodgkinson

The Challenge: Cruise On Labor Day 

When I retired from teaching in 2003, we set sail on a cruise from NYC to London on Labor Day. The significance of sailing on Labor Day could not be overlooked, as it was the first time since I was 6 years old that I was able to take a vacation on Labor Day and not be restricted by having to go to school the next day.  And so it seems most appropriate that this 30 Day Challenge begins on Labor Day, reminding me that I paint because, like cruising, painting is saying yes to fun, freedom, and pleasure. 

I'm Working On Being Idle

The theme for the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge is “On Being Idle.”  Now that does not mean that I will be doing nothing. It means that I am going to focus on eliminating any notion that what I am doing is a job. I am, after all, retired. I paint because it is fun. I paint because I love the creative process. I paint and I write because reflection is pleasurable.

Why did I choose to paint Alaska for my first painting in the challenge? It would seem a welcome choice given how hot and humid Gainesville, FL has been this summer. And I agree that was part of the argument for it. But, that isn’t the only reason. About 8 years ago we took a cruise to Alaska. What could be more leisurely than a cruise? What could drifting in a bay watching glaciers calve be besides a leisurely activity? It would have been more leisurely had I not felt the need at the time to take a thousand photos of the glacier. And honestly, with all of that snapping, I never painted a painting of the glacier, in part because who in Florida would buy a painting of a glacier? Right? It’s not the right market. See? That’s an example of “job” insidiously creeping its way into my daily existence, and blocking my fun. So, today, I gave myself permission to paint it. The boss is easing up!

“Alaska” is a watercolor on Yupo Watercolor Paper, a slick plastic surface that can be challenging and fun at the same time. I just ordered a supply of Yupo from Dick Blick Art Materials, so, yes, I will surely paint on it again in the next 30 days.

At Your Leisure

The Clearing by Jim Carpenter, Watercolor, 15” x 22” 

$285 - to purchase click here

Tomorrow I will join in Leslie Saeta’s 30 Day Challenge – a painting and a blog post a day for 30 days. Artists from all over the world are signing up to take on the challenge. My theme this year is “On Being Idle: Getting Back To The Garden.”

“Do this, do that, do this, do that, and then do this. Ok?”

When I retired from teaching, I envisioned myself leading a life of leisure.  I imagined reading a lot of novels, going to the beach and the pool, and maybe hanging out with artists and doing some painting. Now, painting is a huge part of my life and it seems at times to have taken on the characteristics of a relentless demanding job, with tons of issues and a boss who can be a bit of a tyrant.

Ha! I know. As my sister-in-law laughingly reminded me yesterday over a leisurely  breakfast at the cafe, “But Jimmy, you are doing this to yourself!” I know! I am the boss of me.  If I don’t have time to finish the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Goldfinch, it is no one’s fault but my own. If I don’t make time to go to the pool on a beautiful hot day, it’s my own fault. If I can’t stand up to the boss, then who can?

Creativity coach Mark McGuinness astutely recommended that I take a look at Tom Hodgkinson’s How To Be Idle. It is a wonderfully intelligent and wonderfully subversive work on “work.” I plan to use Hodgkinson’s book, at least for starters, as a guide for my blog posts to help me reflect on what it is like to paint and what my motivation for painting really is.  Since reflection leads to new understanding and new knowledge, I expect that I will learn something in the process of painting and writing. And since my blog posts are most often reflections they fit perfectly into the realm of leisure – we must have leisure time in order to reflect.

Is it not possible that my paintings are reflections? I think so. Perhaps I have just laid the path for getting back to the garden.

Notes on the painting: “The Clearing” is one of my earlier works. I entered it in a show in Live Oak, FL a number of years ago and after the show I was offered the chance to put it in a nice gallery/gift shop in a nearby town. I failed to keep an eye on it and discovered that the painting had disappeared and the owner of the shop had no recollection of it. Years later the painting was uncovered and returned to me. I chose it for this blog post because were it not for leisure it would not exist. It had been a particularly wet spring, and we knew that the wildflowers were in bloom. So two artists and I piled into a car on Mother’s Day and drove off into the countryside looking for fields to paint. 

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My Guilty Pleasure: Painting Flowers

"Grace" by Jim Carpenter, Watercolor, 15" x 11"

As my friend, artist Sandra Hadley, pointed out, “Sometimes it's refreshing to just celebrate beauty for its own sake.” And that observation by Sandra helps me to understand to some degree my love for painting florals. And, in my quest for living a joy-filled life, I have decided that it is time to indulge in some flora-abundance. 

For the next few days I’m going to publish some of my florals here on my blog. I am also making them available in my store on Zatista. I am bringing these paintings back into the light of day, in part because they stand for my own leap back into claiming my own voice (“I like to paint flowers!”) and in part because they lead the way for a new collection of floral paintings.

I painted “Grace” in 2008, long before I knew what a blog was and shortly before I discovered qigong and painting with acrylics, both of which turned me away from painting florals and turned me toward painting from an interior rolodex. “Grace,” as well as several of the others that will follow, is perhaps the beginning of my letting go of the need to paint from a reference.  Here I just painted from the heart – no photo reference – no flower or vase in front of me.  This painting has never been on exhibit, not because I didn’t want to show it, but because I was caught up in changing my image from “the guy who paints florals” to someone else entirely. 

Now, since this is my blog and this is my life, I think I can paint florals any time I want, and talk about it.