Wondering what to write for today’s post, I realised today is the Day of Loosen Up, Lighten Up. I LOVE that there’s a day to celebrate this idea of letting go of control, of just not being so concerned about the little things that may drive you crazy.
I think this idea of “loosen up, lighten up” can apply to our art as well as life. Sometimes we worry too much about making a perfect piece of art, of getting it “right.”
I went looking for a pastel from the past that I felt embodied this idea and I came across a painting by the artist Gerhart Frankl (1901-1965 Austria).
The application of pastel appears to be applied with more of a feeling than a plan.
Salzburg is the title and the inspiration but there’s much more being said here. The Cathedral is present but it’s the mountain behind that takes up much of the space both on the paper and in presence. The church hints at the location but feels secondary to that looming hillside that occupies so much of the painting.
The warmth of the stone in the town can barely support the intense blue that inhabits so much of the painting. Look at the lines of blue that overlay the buildings. What does the blue represent?
What do you read in and into this painting? There’s much to contemplate (and you may wish to read about Frankl here as it will add to the meaning and layers of your reading) but the primary reason for bringing this painting to you is to encourage you to loosen up!
Look at the colour Frankl used.
Look at the marks he made.
Look at the varying pressure he used.
So today, if you feel the urge to loosen up, put on some music to energize you, pick a subject then select some pastels, perhaps in colours that you don’t normally use or colours that express the way you feel about what you’re going to paint. Finally, grab a piece of paper and go for it!
Paint fast.
Don’t worry about the outcome.
Paint with spontaneity and energy and a feeling of letting go.
Embrace the question, What if? And see what happens when you do.
Let me know what happens!
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Arizona Pastel Artists Association Call for Entry
The Arizona Pastel Artists Association (APAA) will be presenting an exhibition at the Phippen Museum of Western Art in historic Prescott, Arizona. This is an Open Exhibition and the deadline to submit work is 18 December 2022. That’s just over a month away (whaaaaaat???). So get those entries in. You can get the lowdown here.
And that’s it for this time,
Gail
