Onward and Upward

Pine Tree, 36" by 36", acrylic on canvas, ©2007 Caroline Roberts

"My challenge for you today is to replace your “wants” with what you NEED to get there. When you catch yourself dreaming, write down a list of everything you need to do that would make that dream a reality—and then start doing them, one at a time."

Dan on Empty Easel: What we Want Versus What we Need: The Artist’s Dilemma

Since the end of my class at Glassell and with summer looming over me I have been planning a little, then this morning I saw the above quote on Empty Easel and it really kicked me into planning mode.

My want is to feel that my painting is of a high quality and that I have a language of marks and shapes and colors that is my own.

I'm part-way there.

Now I need to make a plan of what I need to do to get my 'want'. Inspired by Kim Bennett's Back to the Drawing Board plan I have been thinking of little actions I can take over the summer:

• Work in my sketchbook every day, focussing on shapes and composition - I like Kim's idea to do this over breakfast. I also plan to do this by the pool during swim team practice. I'm sure sunscreen marks on the page will spark some inspiration!
• Revisit PIne Tree (above) and develop it into a small series.
• Explore the new Guerra paints I ordered from their wonderful paint store in New York. These arrived within a week of that blog entry but are still sitting on my desk unopened.

I also realized what is on the other side of the Dip: a feeling that however hard it gets I will never give up painting and struggling to express myself in visual forms. As Georgia O'Keeffe put it:

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.”

link: Georgia O'Keeffe quotes