Keeping It Fun

After decades of drawing and painting, how do people keep at it? For me, the answer is that it has always been fun, above and beyond all else. There is a deep satisfaction in making things and an even deeper sense of satisfaction, even joy, in making them well. Learning new information and new skills is at the root of that satisfaction. You start with native ability, add information and practice, and improve whatever talent you have. For me, then, art-making is a continual process of tuning and re-tuning. And that alone makes it fun. 

"17th Ave NE", ink and watercolor

One the most recent re-tunings in my work has been to move outdoors in the warmer months. Although I had done plein air watercolor work for years, plein air oil painting eluded me. In years past, discouraged by a few sporadic outings I had avoided plein air painting. But the year before the pandemic, after much thought, I began working outside in oil paint.  

"Downstream, Druid Hill Creek," oil on panel

At first much of my outdoor oil painting took place outside my small home studio. It was simply easier to carry a few supplies outside to a deck or under a stand of trees. It was easier to duck indoors to warm up if the weather was cold, as it is here in early spring. 

One of my first outdoor oils is "Downstream, Druid Hill Creek," painted more than two years ago from the deck outside my home studio in springtime. The fun of this piece came from the simple process of doing it out in the elements as the light and conditions changed. Unlike watercolor--a reasonably quick medium, particularly in small formats--oil painting seems to take me longer owing to properties of the medium and different behaviors of the paint. Even so, this small painting took only about two hours and the results were pleasing. The main composition has enough abstract elements to be pleasing and the colors and values are harmonious. The key after these early efforts has been to continue to do the work because without continuous work (practice) even the greatest talents grow dull. Below is a small oil from last week. The setting is a new underpass from Gray's Lake (in the background) into the vast area of Waterworks Park. I did this one morning when the sun had risen midway in the sky.

"The Bike Trail, Waterworks Park," oil on panel