New(ish) Beginnings

I have begun a journey into more creative, free-flowing art in art journals rather than making actual art pieces. I'm allowing myself (which I've never done before) to revisit pages and add or change them randomly. The journals will be works-in-progress for quite a long time, I'm sure. I will periodically post up photos of the pages as I progress, but right now, there's just really not much to look at... Some ink splots here and paint swatches there with some gesso slathered about...

I have been basically absent from this blog from the start because, at the start, I began a college curriculum outside of working full time and, honestly, I just didn't have time for it. I'm hoping that I can ease back into my art and computer time.

Kicking the "Blank Canvas Syndrome"

For quite a long time now I've been suffering from something that most all artists experience from time to time: "Blank Canvas Syndrome" as I refer to it. What is it exactly? Well, most artists understand without any explanation at all. But for those that are not artists, a description is in order. The reason I call it what I do is fairly straight-foward. The mood is right and you want to create art. You sit down at your "battle station" and pull out the paper or canvas and... well... that's it. Its there, blank. Like its staring back at you, taunting you, daring you to try and mar its gleaming white perfection. And you want to. Desperately want to. You want to put something on it. Anything. But even a doodle goes no where and a sketch, well looks like dirty paper and not much more. You can't find anything in your mind's eye to put on this hulking mountain of stark white that looms over you. One of the great masters (I believe it was Michaelangelo, but don't ask me to put money on it) once said that he could look at a piece of marble and IT told HIM what it wanted to be. When the mood is right and your muse is with you, this is very true. The art just flows onto the paper like it was already there and you are just uncovering it. But when your muse leaves you alone... alone with that oh-so-intimidating blank [whatever-it-is] that you're staring at, there is nothing to tell you what to fill the empty void with.

Thus, I have begun a "Creative Journey" to battle the Nothing of Fantasia and find and rescue my muse from its vice-like grip. Stay tuned to follow this brave and dangerous battle in my mind. Who knows, I might find exciting surprises and treasure along the way!!!