progress as of May 13, 09
I had my first one man art show in a Toronto Gallery in the prestigious Yorkville gallery district over 20 years ago. I was in my late 20’s and on top of the world creatively, so I thought. It was a reasonably good show, I sold a few works and I thought I was on my way in the art world. After the show I went back to my studio and began producing more art. When I approached the gallery to show again, they did not seem to be overly interested in the work. I didn’t quite know why until a few years later when I took a good look at what I was painting and I realized it was very mediocre and not really “finished” art. Ever since then I have had a fear of showing my art publically because I never think it is complete or finished.
When I took the picture of the Venice painting today all of that fear and all of that vulnerability came back with a vengeance. The process of creating art is a very personal, emotional and vulnerable process and probably more so with visual artists because we normally only show the finished work once we are content that it is done.
When I looked at the picture on today’s post I realized that the painting is far from done. It doesn’t work together as a whole, it doesn’t flow, there is no tension, no congruity, no feeling…. I really hesitated doing today’s post, until I looked at the detail pictures. In those I saw areas of feeling and emotion as the colours interacted on the canvas. There were glimpses of what the final work could be.
Tomorrow will be a new day and inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter Venice will emerge.
detail, May 13, 09
