Friday, January 2, 2015

Day 2 30 Day Challenge

Day 2-30 Day Challenge

While not a fan of jumping on the bandwagon, I am not a total bonehead either! Leslie Saeta is once again hosting her 30 in 30 challenge: 30 paintings in 30 days. I saw too that my blogging buddy Julie is also participating. Why not join in and accomplish several goals at once?

The above piece is inspired by a lot of research that I have been doing lately. My art education has holes in it, namely big gaps for the latter part of the 20th century. Before a few months ago, I knew nearly nothing about the Abstract Art movement and everything surrounding that time period. The period from the 40's to the current time is exciting and dynamic with regard to art. Many of you may know that I read the blog of professional artist Randall David Tipton. Several days ago he posted a link to a video about artists who got a later start with art making. The link is here and is well worth a look. One of those artists is Etel Adnan. She is many other things besides a painter but this is the part of her body of work that I am drawn to. Along with a lot of other artists that I have read about recently, her compositions and colors really speak to me. I am drawn to simplification and I find her work inspiring and encouraging. Additionally, Randall also posted another video here featuring Ira Glass, host of This American Life. In the video Ira talks about how he wasn't very good for many years after he began his broadcasting career. He gives a very emphatic and convincing argument for continual effort and perseverance. It too is a very inspiring video.

The upshot of the above is that Leslie's challenge fits in very nicely with what I decided to do art wise this January. Practice and explore! To that end the above piece is based on my photos of Lake Alpine taken earlier this year. The sun featured is a nod to Etel Adnan and also another artist, Jon Imber. I read an excerpt from some advice that he gave to a former painting student. The advice was to surprise yourself. So, that is exactly what I did. Why not pop the sun into this piece?

OK, so far so good. No pressure for a painting everyday but I will have something to show at least most of the time:)

Thanks for reading and commenting.
Libby

6 comments:

  1. Good for you, Libby! That is quite a challenge and I'll be interested to see what you are working on. I like what you said about being drawn to simplification and I can see that inclination in your work. And I do believe in the importance of practice and perseverance. Hope this is a great learning and flourishing experience for your.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like what you've done here....have fun in the challenge --it will be cool to see what you come up with. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good for you, Libby! I know you'll have fun with the 30 in 30 Challenge. I like what you've done here and look forward to more. Your "writing" voice sounds excited! Thought you might like to look up Stephen Ormandy and Rex Ray if you haven't yet. I think their art would be considered abstract rather than abstract based on realism. But lovely color is a thread that runs through both men's work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow Libby, 30 in 30? You go!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can see why you like Etel's work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for checking out that link. I was so surprised to see what this almost 90 year old woman was doing. It really gives me some encouragement.

      Lib

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it! I reply back in an email if you are signed in and I can see your address. Otherwise I will post the reply here under your comment. I tend to cut and paste my emails too so that others can experience the back and forth which I think is integral to blogging.
Libby