Foibles, Inhibitions or Plain Old Fear – The Show Must Go On!

"Para-sailing Roseate Spoonbill" watercolor drawing

I’ve been working this week, filling in for a friend who is on vacation. The next few weeks will be hectic, to say the least. But push forward I must! As a result, my paintings will not get done as soon as expected, but there are other ideas waiting in the wings.

I have only painted one rooster and love the magnificence of these fine creatures. Their color and regal splendor fascinate me. Each has a definite personality. You can see it in the glint of their eyes and in the way they proudly strut their stuff to an adoring throng of chicks.

"Star Billing" mixed media on wrapped canvas

A rooster is a male at its best. A "cock of the walk." Not only are they showy, they can sing in their own unique way as they wake us in song: “Here I am world!”

I plan to do some drawings called “Cockadoodles to Crow about” (If I don’t get plagiarized first). But instead of using ordinary color, I want to use the henna designs from India that I showed you a few blogs back to fill in their wings and tail feathers.

Ideas are the lifeblood of artists and writers. They come and go and we must nail them down before they get away. I’m consumed by ideas every moment of every day. I have difficulty answering questions or following a conversation, especially if I’m interrupted in thought (Just ask my husband!).

Egyptian lure, clothing, and sculpture intrigue me. I want to explore some paintings and drawings, but then my personal sensibilities slap my hand and say: “no, no, no!” Why is that? Why do we allow our inhibitions, our religion or our squeamishness to come between us and the inspirational vibes that sent them in the first place?

I’d be curious if any other artists or writers run into these same barriers; these self-induced walls of fear?

Since I love to draw people, I thought I’d like to do some “discreet” boudoir drawings or paintings; but again my prudish conscience holds me back. 

On the light side, I tell myself, that God created everything and it is all good and beautiful. Perhaps it depends on the way we handle the subject. We can make lewd artwork not only by what we draw or paint but how. The how is the overriding question.

How we compose or position the human body can make the difference in how it’s perceived. The model’s pose and facial expression can change the mood and influence people’s reaction. Is he/she smirking or flirting? Is the work seductive? Is the model a temptress or a shy virginal innocent? Suggestive angles may verge on the pornographic. These unlikely positions may titillate some people while offending others.

Each time a canvas or idea is conceived, we must grapple with our choices while fighting our inner demons or angels. The battle rages on until the canvas is confronted and the paint begins to run. After that we cannot stop ourselves. The show must go on!

"The Neptunes -- Golden Girls" acrylic on panel

Magnificent Obsession or Compulsive Fixation -- It’s all in your Point of View

"Flash Dance" 16 x 20 mixed media on canvas

Long before I was born, Lloyd C. Douglas wrote a book called "Magnificent Obsession" that was made into several movies. The theme of the book and of the 1954 adaptation starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson was that doing good for others, especially if done in secret or without praise or recognition, could become an obsession; a magnificent obsession.

When I read “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” a book written by Irving Stone about the life of Michelangelo I thought of that movie. The book described the life of the early masters: their struggles, their weaknesses, their triumphs over hunger, temptation and difficulty and their obsession with their craft.

"With These Hands -- Wonder" oil on 18 x 24 canvas
This painting has sold more prints than any of my other paintings.

They learned how to draw the figure by studying cadavers; a gruesome exercise that proved enlightening. Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel was the triumph of his career. But his greatest personal achievement his “Magnificent Obsession” his “Agony and Ecstasy” was the Pieta, a sculpture of Mary holding the crucified Christ.

The word magnificent perfectly describes the results of his work: superb, wonderful, splendid, glorious, brilliant, marvelous, grand. He used his gifts to portray Biblical scenes and make them come alive.

"Beach Buddies" 18 x 24 mixed media on canvas
This is the next best seller in my portfolio

The word “obsession” describes Michelangelo’s passion for his work. The synonym “fixation” has both negative and positive meanings: fascination and addiction. There is a difference between obsession or passion and addiction. The synonym “compulsive” says it best: obsessive, neurotic, habitual, irrational, and uncontrollable.

If we have a passion or obsession for our work, there is joy and love that flows from our heart into our fingertips, and into our work. We are in control of what we do. Our emotions emanate through our thought processes and into the finished product.

If our behavior and our work are compulsive, obsessive and uncontrollable, our work will lack consistency and cohesiveness. It will reflect our inner state of being and appear irrational or neurotic.

"He Lives" 16 x 20 mixed media on wrapped canvas

When we harness our own passion or “magnificent obsession” our work becomes compelling, attention grabbing and interesting. Our work flows freely, our thoughts are uninhibited, and we become one with the canvas rather than dominating it, forcing it, or thrashing it to death.

When we recognize our own strength, we reach a pinnacle and there’s no turning back. Like climbing a mountain, we rise to new levels. We reach the heights of all that we are. When the project, the book or the canvas is finished, we are sad.

The journey begins again when we start afresh, not because we have to or because we can’t stop, but because our life is fulfilled when we practice our craft, touch brush to canvas and share our joy with the world.