| The vast, white expanse of a canvas My canvas rack – in process, progress I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart. ~Vincent van Gogh |
If you’ve read my previous Letter you will know that I’ve been unpacking a home and a studio in the Arizona heat of August and September.
Opening boxes in the non air-conditioned garage all day is not my idea of fun but, to my credit, I am almost done. The studio is waiting for the canvas rack to be assembled and after that, minimal touch ups will allow me to re-start painting.
My stated inspiration for my work is twofold: to express my Self as truthfully as possible; express both passion and poetry, rawness and softness, simplicity and sophistication. And the reason why these are important to me is because they encompass both the spiritual and the elementary. If boiled down to my essence, I think that passion and poetry encompass most of who I am in the world. Yes, there are in-between elements but those are the humdrum areas we all have and we’d better leave them alone.
This is by way of an introduction to my process of working. When faced with the white immensity of a canvas, the tendency is to become paralyzed: how am I going to break into this white territory that seems to taunt me, to challenge me to create my best work ever? For when I start a new painting, I expect it to be better than the previous one; I envisage a painting that will catapult me to the higher echelons of fame and glory (yeah, I have my moments).
But the main thing is to start: where to go, what to do, how should the first brushstroke be? Which directions to take?
Solving all these quandaries is the Canvas Activation, coming from left- to center-stage. This is a spontaneous, almost child-like play with marks and paint. Being out of my head is a heady feeling; I become who I’d always wanted to be: carefree, light, trusting, accepting without judgement. Oh well, at least I can be like that when I play.
Here are two short videos of a Canvas Activation.
and
(hope there are no glitches)
Here’s a sample of one canvas after being activated. It’s not yet a finished painting but I used many of these elements to continue to develop it.
You can see the results of my seeking and my striving here: www.fidelabstractoils.com
Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have questions.