When Things get tough, find a Different Way to Work

"With These Hands -- Wonder" 1st in a Series; oil on acrylic canvas

I sometimes wail and whine about getting older. My osteoarthritis has begun to swell my joints and reshape my fingers. I can no longer draw a straight line without some help from a ruler or guide.

And I recently had contact lenses implanted in my eyes. They are “monovision,” meaning that one eye serves for distance and one for close-ups. While it’s great not to have glasses, my perspective has changed. Do I really paint what I see or is what I see distorted by my altered vision?

We all have problems as we age. Some of us were born with a disability. Others were given problems and illnesses sometimes at the peak of their careers. Life happens to us all and “shit” happens.

So you think you’ve got problems? These heroic artists continued to create in spite of their problems and well into old age.

At the end of his life, French impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir continued painting — using a brush tied to his arthritic hand.

Renoir had crippling rheumatoid arthritis — at the LACMA Exhibit, there's a flickering black and white film that shows Renoir painting in 1915, despite his afflictions. His hands look like stumps of old trees — you can barely see his fingers because they are so curled in on themselves. Fabric is tied across Renoir's palms, to protect his skin.

In the newsreel footage, he clamps a paintbrush between the thumb and fist of his right hand. Renoir leans into the canvas as he paints. He talks while he works. He's lively, and his eyes are piercing.

(The Absinthe Drinker) Renoir

"I am just learning how to paint," Pierre-Auguste Renoir said in 1913 — six years before he died. The French master painted right up to the end of his life; he died in 1919 at age 78.

Edgar Degas “frequently blamed his eye troubles for his inability to finish a painting, an explanation that met with some skepticism from colleagues and collectors who reasoned, as Stuckey explains, that "his pictures could hardly have been executed by anyone with inadequate vision." The artist provided another clue when he described his predilection "to begin a hundred things and not finish one of them," and was in any case notoriously reluctant to consider a painting complete.

(Blue Dancers -- Degas) Love the composition!

He was a deliberative artist whose works, as Andrew Forge has written, "Were prepared, calculated, practiced, developed in stages. They were made up of parts. The adjustment of each part to the whole, their linear arrangement, was the occasion for infinite reflection and experiment."

1890 Degas’s eyesight fades and he does more sculpture and pastels. He does some mono-types of valleys from memories of the countryside from a trip to Burgundy.

1895 Degas experiments in photography.

1910 Degas goes blind becomes depressed and bitter, stops painting.

1917 Degas dies 27 September aged 83 at his home. And so ends the career of our greatest artists.

(Degas liked to paint members of his family)

The following “lesser known” artists have overcome monumental difficulties but continue to do what they love. Lisa Fittipaldi lost her eyesight, yet paints the most remarkable paintings. She detects the color by the feel of the pigment. Remarkable!

Courageous Artists

Developing a Unique Style and Vision

"Moonshines" 18x24 abstract acrylic on canvas

Are you guilty of comparing yourself to someone else and then thinking you’re not as talented or as skilled? Do you try to copy others work; not just to learn, but because you fear your ideas are not good enough?

Welcome to the world of self-defeat where you beat yourself up with the disapproving eye of a parent until you feel so inadequate that fear reigns free; where the unique perspective that lives within you disappears little by little: death by drowning.

"India Rising -- The Lost"  18x24 acrylic on canvas

When you drown out your own voice by dumping negative thoughts and distorted impressions over your psych you end up retreating in shame, embarrassment and disappointment.

In order to defeat “self-defeat,” you need to eliminate the following thoughts and words from your vocabulary:

"Americana" 16x20 acrylic on canvas

1.    What will other people think?
Who cares what they think? There are as many opinions in the world as there are people. Since no two people think alike and seldom agree, your opinion is likely to be different. Embrace that difference! It is what makes you stand out in a world of sheep. Be bold. Be courageous. Be yourself! Listen and evaluate what others have to say, but give your own voice equal value.

"Star Billing" mixed media on canvas

2.    I’ll never be as good as Joe or Joan Blow?
Why would you want to be Joe or Joan Blow in the first place? Their unique style belongs to them. Your unique style is embedded in your DNA. Your fingerprints, your eyes, your experiences belong only to you. They have made their mark upon you. Don’t regret your past. Bring it forward. Remember it, use it, bring it into your work and allow it to effect what you do. Show your stuff!

3.    Success is out of reach – I’m not good enough!  Baloney!  Perhaps the problem is “failure to drive.” What are you willing to give up for success? Are you putting in your time? Many less talented people achieve success because they are willing to work for it. Skills require dedication and practice. When you’re ready to give something up in order to achieve something greater, you’re on your way to achieving success.

Sometimes we must be willing to fail in order to succeed. We must make a fool of ourselves and face the music of stepping forward in order to develop courage and stamina. Failures are stepping stones that can propel us forward and lead us upward. Don’t allow failures or mistakes to defeat you. Instead, defeat your fears. Don’t be afraid to put your unique stamp on everything you do. Eventually it will pay off.

"Beach Buddies" mixed media on canvas

Childrens’ Picture Books may Inspire and Encourage

Illustrations for children are more than colorful, pretty paintings. They are tools for education, celebration, and fun. They are a means for teaching children how to deal with serious issues in their lives where the outcomes are frightening or unknown. Children’s illustrations may also take the edge off of sadness and pain by providing an outlet for fun and whimsy. They can reassure a child that there is balance, beauty and harmony in the world.

That’s why I created “Inez Ibis Flies Again; the story of a courageous ibis who never gave up!”

People don't normally name the birds and animals they encounter, but after watching a white ibis for over six years, I simply had to. Inez was the name that I gave her. 

What was it that made her stand out? First of all, she had a bad limp that made it difficult for her to keep up with the other ibis as they foraged for food. And secondly, she came back to our neighborhood again and again, to the same side street, and has for over six years. Why, we’re practically family!

 Today she had two young ibis with her, sporting the brown feathers of youth. Her second family, although I suspect there may have been a third. I was happy to see them, even though they are skittish around humans. When there are long absences, I worry about her. She is usually gone when she has a clutch, but always returns.

One day I was out walking and spied the remains of an ibis. Nothing but a ball of white tail feathers, a beak, and the legs and feet. I was beside myself, thinking it must have been Inez for she doesn't move as quickly as the others.

Today I saw a hawk devouring a white feathered bird in the field and again I worried. There were precious snowy egrets flying about, it could have been one of those; or it could have been a cattle egret. There are many in the field where the cattle graze. When I finally saw Inez and her chicks, I was overjoyed.

I imagined that Inez may have been hit by a car.

Exhausted ibis after a long migration.

Inez is a courageous ibis. She has regained her wing strength and flies as well as the others now, but the limp remains. I admire her for keeping on in the face of a crippling disability. I thought about the countless children in our world who suffer in the same way. That was my motivation for writing and illustrating this picture book.

Inez practices flyiing in the field; sometimes she falls.

When Inez finally "lifts off" she feels freedom

"Wheee, this is fun!"

If you know a child who needs encouragement and the will to "keep on keeping on," please take a look at “Inez Ibis Flies again.” Samples are available at both of these web sites:

E-book  http://smashwords.com/b/8340

Hard Copy

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/1924965/3235723ace6efe506d8e1d1e7e568f1a9dfdc1c3

We are Fighters, and the Battles we Fight are Real

"With These Hands -- Hope" 16x20 mixed media canvas

Every day we fight fatigue, interruptions, resistance, competition, and our own ineptness. If you think I’m joking, I’m not.

Sometimes we hit a stone wall so strong and so deep that we can’t get past it. We bang our heads on it for awhile and then give up. Maybe we try again tomorrow. If we keep batting our heads or our fists against an obstacle, maybe it will go away. Usually it doesn’t. If you’ve reached this point in your life, don’t give up just yet. There may be “light at the end of the tunnel.”

What are the possibilities?

1. You could climb over the wall.  Earthly walls, like most obstacles are rarely sky high. Most of them are created in our own minds or by outside forces we feel we have no control over.
2. You could go around the wall. It may cost you extra time, and perhaps more education, but your efforts will pay off if it helps you reach your goal.
3. Knowing that the wall represents the circumstances of your life that prevent you from being productive means you must find a way to remove it, go around it, or look at it as another challenge that must be overcome.

The last thing you want to do is allow the wall to stop you from doing what you want to do in your heart of hearts.

"Broken" 11x14 mixed media canvas SOLD

I’m not usually a gambler, but there was one time in my life when I sat in Reno, Nevada, and poured nickels down the throat of a slot machine. I was determined I was going to win. I was afraid if I left someone else would take over my machine and reap what I’d delivered.

I went through $35 that evening with nothing to show for it. 

Some machines are rigged to pay up, and some are not. My inability to move, to get past that wall froze (brain freeze) my common sense. A move to another machine, a change in thinking or attitude could have helped me get past this slump.

I’m not telling this story to encourage others to gamble. I’m just saying that sometimes in life we hit obstacles. Instead of finding ways around them by weighing our options, and asking ourselves: “what’s the worst that can happen?” We let fear freeze us into a position of banging our heads against problems rather than trying to solve them.

"Leap of Faith" 16x20 mixed media canvas

If there’s a nagging problem or wall in your life, find another way around it or you’ll end up sitting in the same place stalled; frozen by inaction in much the same way as I was frozen into a losing position in Reno. Sometimes we just have to get off our “duffs” and move! We have to climb out of a rut, jump over a hurdle and move into the light of common sense and self-discovery.

Featured Artist
Today I’m featuring Krzysztof Tozowski from Warsaw, Poland. Her surreal paintings and photographs are humorous, colorful and lively. See Link for Krzysztof’s facebook page below.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/lozowskio