Are you Spreading yourself too Thin?

(In honor of Martin Luther King)

If the New Year is any indication of how the next year will go, I’m in trouble. Last year was filled with illnesses, surgeries, and accidents. This year started out with a chest cold and flu in spite of the fact that I had a flu shot. Hence the title of this blog.

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and it’s all you can do to keep up with its demands. My blogs have been late more often than not. I feel I'm lagging behind and that I"ll never catch up. I haven’t felt like painting or doing anything, but I’m slowly getting back to normal.

(Shadow patterns on pavement)

One thing that's been on my mind is how much art and design is in nature. Inspiration comes naturally when you take a look around and try to recognize the intricacies of detail, contrast and color that exist all around us each day, but we're either too distracted or busy to notice.

Art usually replicates life, and nature is a big part of the equation. Even man-made objects add to the beauty of our surroundings. A brick walkway, tile roofs, sculptured or oriental rugs, baskets, wood grains, leaf patterns, light play and shadow. We are surrounded by artistic designs from our clothing to the food we put on our plates to eat.

Architecture and interior design complement our tastes and become the building blocks that highlight our personalities. Texture adds a tactile dimension and an element of fun. Our homes should reflect who we are and what we enjoy.

(I really need a hair cut!  My painting "Sandhill Cranes" behind me.)

(More beautiful shadow patterns)

You don’t have to be an expert to combine what you love with what brings you joy. Art and design are not complicated. They are simply an expression of who you are. Within your reach, note how many patterns and designs already exist in your home even without the obvious artwork. Wall art adds a third rail by accenting the colors that already exist and by providing an element of surprise or interest to an otherwise boring wall.

Wall art is like the final gilding on a non-descript room. It provides excitement and completion. Artwork ties everything together and adds a finished look to your entire scheme. Linking up with a few interior designers is a good way to get your personal artwork out there and become familiar with the local scene.

Next time you're in a slump, or you feel you've simply spread yourself too thin. Magnify your surroundings. Soak up detail. You don't have to travel or go to foreign lands for inspiration. You just have to remove the clutter from your own mind and focus on the unique that is already in front of you.

Vindication – What Goes Around Comes around

When we moved into our villa, everything was white; the tiled floors, the walls, the cupboards. Over the last few years, we watched the trends go from white to color and from pastel to bright and bold. Through it all, we stoically held our own as we watched our friends slather on reds, golds, teals, and yellows.

Our dark bold furnishings complimented our world of white. I did admire the bright gleam of graceful white flowers and white woodwork against the latest trending colors, but we stood firm on grounds of economics and the fact that our walls were freshly painted when we moved in.

"Blending In" 11x14 acrylic on panel / in barnwood frame

Trends have a way of reaching their peak. People tire of intensity and they long for peace and non-distraction. Enter the new white; not only exhibited on walls and cupboard doors, but in furnishings. The scuffed up well-worn white of yesteryear has been replaced by shiny smooth. We’re back in style! Vindication -- oh, sweet reprieve!

The same holds true for clothes. If you leave them hanging in your closet long enough they will be back in style in a few short years. What goes around does come around. The same holds true for art. Styles and trends cycle; but if you go back far enough, you’ll find some of the same trends with a slight twist.

Today’s trendy art boasts a large following of buyers. It is hip, techie, and speaks to the young at heart. Ignore the trends if you must, or climb on board and take advantage of the upswing; in either case, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Passion, though a bad regulator, is a powerful spring.”

But don’t let your heart or your eyes be fooled. Even though art is trending free and wild, the successful still follow the tried and true rules of color theory and composition. In fact, this is the very reason an artist is able to get away with so much. Knowing what colors to use, how, and when is the key to their popular draw. Rules of composition still apply, perhaps even more so as the subjects and images become more outlandish.

Andy Warhol once said that “rules are meant to be broken.” Knowing how to break them creatively and within the bounds of good art is another matter. Once you know all the rules that govern art, then choosing which one you will break for a given effect is not stupid, it’s creative license.

My own journey has been one of trial and error. I’ve always been a non-conformist of sorts, and my internal creativity screams at sameness, blandness, duplication, or compliance with other people’s rules of beauty or completeness.

We’re told as artists that we should be “loose,” and that we should “fly.” But at the same time, our journey is bound by strict compliance to certain codes of behavior and performance. I don’t know about you, but I get confused. I’m hoping something “clicks” sooner than later!