Wednesday, January 04, 2012

When the muse is away...

Abandoned in the Garden
7" x 9"   oil on canvas panel

SOLD

When the muse becomes less than amusing or takes an unexpected leave of absence, its like hitting a wall.  You have a need to produce, but the connection between brain and hand doesn't exist.  Inspiration is nowhere to be seen, packed up and taken away in the muse's overnight bag.

I'm museless at the moment and its frustrating.  I know it will pass.  And when it does, I'll go to the other extreme of being overwhelmed with ideas to the point of not wanting to sleep so I can get them all down.  So what to do?

When this happens, I look in a couple of directions.  I browse art sites and artists' blogs.  I create other things in the form of knitting, cooking, and heaven forbid, cleaning sometimes.  I also try other subjects or mediums that I'm not as comfortable with to  allow myself to get colour on canvas but not think much about it.


This piece is one of those free thinking, abstract pieces that allows me to thumb my nose at the muse's departing back.  Inspiration came from some photos of the garden one summer.  Hot reds and oranges against dark foliage tipped with sunlight lit up the spot.  A brush was soon abandoned in favour of a palette knife and thick smears of oil paint.  Abstract meets floral.

Take that muse!

8 comments:

Lesley Ann Staples said...

i love the colours. very nice indeed.

Sue Johnson said...

Oh wow...what an exciting painting! I love it.

Susan said...

The muse will return once she sees how determined you are without her! Wonderful energy in this piece, Jeanette.

Unknown said...

If this is what you are producing without a muse, who needs one???!

Jennifer Rose said...

this is gorgeous :D love the colours and movement in it

Jeanette Jobson said...

Lesley Ann, thanks. Its good to paint without thinking too hard about it sometimes.

Sue, thank you!

Susan, the muse comes and goes, but it won't defeat me!

Sue, I wonder about her hold over me sometimes too. But without structure, good things can come.

Thanks Jennifer, aren't the colours wild? I love the shot of hot colour.

TheAspiringArtist said...

Wow! Your art is amazing, I've only taken art up recently, i'm not very good though... How long have you been painting/Drawing? Did it just come to you or did you have to work for it?

Jeanette Jobson said...

Thanks TheAspiringArtist, and welcome to my blog.

I've been drawing and painting for more than 30 years and its something I was interested in all my life. Nothing comes easily, you have to work at it and practice daily. So if you're just starting, dedicate time to art every day, just as you would if you were learning to play an instrument. Practice is the key.