Two - new - Beginnings

Background:

I am reading, working my way through

"Fishing for Elephants" by Larry Moore.

Better, I am doing this with two fellow creatives!

And as I force my 'stretch' gene I realize

that I must actually experiment with some of his advice

 for it to move me forward.

Moore wants us, as artists in any field, to push further, go farther and be more creative than we currently are.  When you get in an artist rut everything begins to look the same and every approach is similar (I guess some folks by default call this "a style.") But as he breaks down the work needed on an idea before it even goes to a canvas (or a wheel, or a music sheet...) I realize that complaining about a failed pass at something is a bit naive.  Thus,

A self-assignment: complete a painting of my brother-in-law's favorite bridge. 

Moore encourages defining the parameters of the problem ("Feeding the parameters", p. 94) before one even begins sketching.

Since this is a gift (not a commission piece) the "parameters" are of my own choosing:   

             it will be in oil, 16ish high by 20-22ish wide, may be executed in any technique I choose but based on a reference photo I have, the bridge must be recognizable but strict adherance to reality is not required 

So far I have two "starts" and to me they are rather similar:

basic underpainting on white gessoed board

and

more monochromatic layout on indian yellow

toned canvas

Knowing me I will complete both pieces and they will look similar - as in you could tell I executed both of them.  I need to divert, push the envelop, get outside the lines.....

Maybe I need to crop and fold the reference photo?

Change the parameter of the support size?

Totally go off kilter with the "local" color selection?

I think this is where Moore is pushing me...to fish for some elephants with new bait.  I may not catch any but the act may have a residual affect when I return to finish these.

So, back to the pencil and paper to make notes as to specific ways I can change this up....for my creative stretching benefit.  Of course I'll present my brother-in-law with a couple completed pieces to choose from, and hopefully I'll have several others that don't make it past the pencil stage.

So if I am MIA a bit you know where to find me.

Happy Fishing,

Cindy
P.S. - I loved hearing your reactions to the "word for the year" blog.  So many shared their chosen word and I promise it ran the gamut from "dwell" to "celebrate" with 'contemplate', 'bold', and 'action' in between.  Remember that the word only has to resonate with you personally; sometimes I find myself drawing near to a word that years ago I would not even have considered.  Happy wording.