The Art of Practice

"Practice" by Jim Carpenter, Acrylic on Paper, 5 1/2 " x 7 1/2" 

"Practice" is my painting #6 in the Leslie Saeta's 30 Day Challenge.  Notice that it ought to be painting #9 since this is Day 9, but I started 3 days late.  Now I'm working on catching up.  Guess what the best thing for that is.  Practice!  And this 30 Day Challenge is a great way to sharpen one's skills, and a great way to build in the discipline of painting every day.  But let's talk about practice and the painting for a minute.  

The figure on the left is a print from a stamp that I made about 4 years ago. It is based on the Chi Kung (Qigong)  pattern called "Lifting the Sky" - the best single Chi Kung pattern in the world.  It is one of the most beautiful of the patterns and, for me, the figure stands as a symbol for this ancient Chinese self-healing art form that has in many ways changed my life.  This ancient art form is transformative - well the practice of this art form is transformative.  You have to practice regularly to get results.  

And that is what I think this painting is about, the transformative power of  practice.  Whether it is Qigong you are practicing or tap dancing or the piano  or spinning on your toes, you develop your skill  through practice.  

It is a common misconception to think that artists are able to do what they do because they have a natural talent and it comes easy to them.  But we know that isn't so.  You don't get to spin like Osipova does in the clip linked to above without practice.  Fred Astaire, one of the most gifted dancers of the 20th Century, was known for spending long hours in the rehearsal studio perfecting his work.

To get to the right side of the painting you have to pay attention to the figure on the left - "Practice!"  I'm grateful for the 30 in 30 Challenge.  I need the practice!  How about you?

Fortitude: Braving the Art of Self-Expression

"Fortitude" by Jim Carpenter, Acrylic on Paper, 5 1/2" x 7 1/2"

Painting #5 Day 8 in Leslie Saeta's 30 Day Painting Challenge 

"I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream—past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was—there is no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had—but man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream." - A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare

In the fantastical world of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Bottom for a brief time is literally turned into a jackass with ears.   He recalls it as a dream and wants to tell others about it but he reasons that the story is too fantastic for anyone to possibly believe it, and it is too grand for him to put into words and give it justice.  Besides, people will think him a fool if he were to tell anyone about it.  So he decides not to tell the story himself but instead to hand it over to another to craft it for him.

What a gift that dream would be to an artist who felt he had the ability to turn it into a work of art! Imagine someone who wasn't afraid of taking the risk of telling a story that was so fantastical that no one would believe it.  Someone like uh, I know, William Shakespeare!

The work in the world of the arts that stops me in my tracks and takes my breath aways strikes me as a courageously honest example of self-expression.  I think, "Wow! You just lay it all on the line!"

I am very much aware of the need to have courage when I paint.  I sometimes carve the words "practice fortitude" "be brave" "courage" into the paper as I'm working, and as I am seeking more authenticity in my own self-expression.  And that is what this painting seems to signify today; the figure is standing inside, peeking out into the light, considering the pitfalls and the rewards of authentic self-expression, mustering up the courage to step forward into the world of creativity and risk-taking .

Honor the Creative Spirit

 "Honor" by Jim Carpenter, Acrylic on Paper, 9 1/2" x 6 1/2"

Painting #4 in my day 7 of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge.

When I looked at the finish my first thought was "this is about honor." So I titled it "Honor" and see it as a logical sequence in a line of titles: Seek, Pause, Endure, and now Honor.  I always make an effort not to box a painting in with a title because I want the viewers to be free to create their own story from what they see.  In that sense visual art is collaborative.

As I look at the painting now I see that I pulled the composition out of my theatre bag.  I really didn't think about it at all when I was in the midst of the creative process.  But, I spent decades directing plays and exploring story-telling by moving people from one place to another in a big empty space, and so I shouldn't be surprised to see that experience informing me now.  They say, "Paint what you know" and I say, "If you paint intuitively, you have no choice but to paint what you know.  You cannot do otherwise.  In fact, you may discover what you know by simply painting from the heart."

I've said previously that I believe in "not knowing" and perhaps that is why I view my paintings as vehicles for informing me about the stories that really matter to me and would remain untold were I not to paint.

I sometimes will look at a painting long after I'm done and I say, "Oh, so that's what matters to me!"

Do you find yourself creating meaning when you look at the figures in this painting?  What is going on in the scene?  I'd love to hear your stories.

Endurance: It Is About Time

"Endurance" by Jim Carpenter, Acrylic on Paper, 7 1/2" x 9 1/2"

Time past and time future


What might have been and what has been


Point to one end, which is always present. - TS Elliot, Burnt Norton

"Endurance" is my painting #3 in Leslie Saeta's 30-30 Challenge.  Once again the painting and the title seem to be related in someway to the experience of the challenge itself.  I didn't plan it this way, but as I wrote earlier, planning the outcome of putting paint on paper is not a big part of my process.  I titled the painting "Endurance" because the figures appear hardened, literally stone-like, and in the case of the figure on the right, encased or embedded in stone like a fossil.  One of the roots of the word comes from Old French word endurer which means "to continue in existence"  and from the Latin durare which means "to harden."

My first thoughts as I looked at the finished painting were that it is about time and the ways in which we travel through it, leaving remnants of ourselves behind and thereby always being present.  We pause. We observe.  We endure.

The 30 day challenge is already teaching me lessons.  My usual format is a full sheet - 22" x 30" - of water color paper.   I was not expecting that creating small works could nearly as satisfying as it is right now.  The creative spirit continues to teach no matter what the size of the canvas.

Pause to Paint: Paint to Pause

"Pause" by Jim Carpenter, Acrylic on Crescent Illustration Board, 9 1/2" x 6 1/2"

Is it a certain madness that drives 417 artists to agree to making 30 paintings in 30 days and to blog about them?  Is this just another opportunity to race with the clock?   

I recognized that hopping onto a challenge that seems to hold a promise of working, working, working, might be a bit crazy for me to attempt right now, given all that I have on my schedule.  But, underlying this rush of productivity is the current of creation, of self- expression, of dis-covery of self and of what is around us.  It's essentially an opportunity to "pause."  

It may seem at first glance a bit ironic that the painting that came along on day 2 for me in a 30 day challenge of productivity is one that reflects the importance of taking time to pause, but I find it surprisingly appropriate.  To take pause in the journey, to be curious, to read the text and interpret the symbols that surround us, to wonder at the mystery and to become fully engaged with it -- all of that is what making art is about.  

Here is the "start" that  led me to pause. Can you see the figure pausing in there, waiting for me to dis-cover it?  

Start Seeking: Find a Start, Dis-Cover Art

"Seek" by Jim Carpenter, Acyrlic on Crescent Illustration Board, 9 1/2 " x 6 1/2"

Seek and ye shall find!  It would seem that all of my time in the studio and in the creative process is pretty much "seeking" in order to find or to dis-cover.  First I have find an appropriate "start." Somedays I only create "starts" that will be put aside for future use.   But a start, which is a great warm up activity because you get to play as much as you want with the paint, is just a start and it can remain a start for a few days or a few weeks or months or even years.  For my first painting of the challenge I selected one of several starts on crescent illustration board.  Better now than never.

The Start for "Seek"

I'm into "not knowing," so, there is no such thing as a detailed concept when I begin. I create some chaos on the paper and then seek out the painting.  I do have some trusted guides to help me though the journey.  For the most part, I work with the same pigments and generally stick to a limited palette using a red, a blue and a yellow, and several opaque whites.  I also have a favorite violet that I use occasionally and some metallics.

But it really is this process of just put paint down, making marks, stirring things up and then looking for the images to emerge from the chaos that challenges and juices me.  I am always amazed at where the paint leads me and know that if I had tried to imagine the painting before hand that I would never have imagined what I end up with.

The quest for knowledge, for guidance, for wisdom, for any worthwhile goal is as old - and as new - as mankind.  We are all about seeking.  And now I wonder if this painting - which I've titled "Seek" emerged for the express purpose of reminding me that we are all seeking something, looking for the clues, looking for the blessings, asking for guidance to help us un-cover something regarding the mystery that surrounds us.

The Challenge of Finishing What One Starts

My studio is full of "starts" -  the beginnings of paintings left unfinished. What can bring me back to them?  

Leslie Saeta has invited artists to join her in a 30 day challenge for the month of September - a painting a day posted on one's blog.  Having just finished the Whole 30 recently I've learned that one really can make a change in one's habits in 30 days.  So, I am going to accept Leslie's challenge to do 30 paintings in 30 days, and to post them on my blog.  That means I also have to write on my blog for 30 days.   Hmmm.  I’m already three days late on this, but we are assured that if we fall behind we can just catch up. 

I have not spilled many beans about my creative process, but let’s just say that the painting I begin is not often the one that ends up being in the frame.   I do a lot of covering and uncovering before I find the painting.  Sometimes that means erasing as much of the original painting, either by trying to remove the paint from the paper or by covering the paper with new layers of paint. 

Since I’m gearing up for a show in October, I think that for me to take on a challenge such as this would be a crazy.  But I do have a lot of “unfinished” paintings, many of them 5” x 7” just waiting to be addressed. So, I’ve decided to accept the challenge of 30 paintings in 30 days by taking the many starts and near finishes I have in my studio and finishing them. One day at a time.   

I will on occasion post the starting point of the painting so you can get a sense of where I begin and where it all ends.   

More of my "starts" ...