Cleaning out my studio, I came across some old(er) paintings that had been left lying around for quite awhile. It was kind of neat to see them, because when I look at my old artwork (whether finished or unfinished), it usually brings me right back to “where I was” mentally, physically, and emotionally at the time that I was working on that piece. So in a way, each artwork, whether it’s a well-rendered drawing or a simple scribble, is like a piece of me. Some are long-forgotten until they accidently reappear in some form, and those are always exciting moments; it’s interesting to see the “old” vision with new eyes. In this way, my artwork almost functions as a purely visual journal because my thoughts and feelings at the time become so embedded in the artwork, moreso than I could have explicated in words. And it’s also probably one of the most “secret” journals possible, because no one can look at my artwork (or anyone’s artwork, for that matter) and really know what the person was thinking/feeling/experiencing at the time.

So anyway, here are two of the pieces I came across. Someday I would like to finish these! I suppose it’s just a matter of time. As the years go by I become more aware of just how many pieces of art I can create/finish in a week, month or year, and I have come to accept the realization that there will never be enough time to manifest all the ideas and visions that run through my mind. One lifetime is just not enough! But when it comes to creativity, I feel that it’s better to have too many ideas than not enough.

This one is a 5″ x 7″ portrait on wood panel, drawn in graphite and begun in acrylics. I started this over 3.5 years ago, and haven’t really touched it since. I think all the detail was too daunting at the time! But I look at it now and feel that it’s something I can handle, because my skills have developed enough in the past 3.5 years. Sometimes certain paintings just need to simmer for awhile until the artist has matured enough to finish it!

This painting is 8″ x 10″ acrylic on wood panel, started at around the same time as the previous one, and probably set aside for similar reasons. I think I spent so long perfecting the silver bow that I just got sick of it for awhile (never was a big fan of monochromatics!). Now when I look at it, the daunting thing is all those shadows caused by the marbles on the plate. Well-blended shadows can be so difficult to create with acrylics, since they dry so quickly, thus requiring many layers of glazing (and many hours of patience!). I much prefer to work on all the tiny detail bits!

It was good to run across these old photorealist paintings, since I feel I’d like to explore that more in the upcoming year, especially continuing to combine photorealism with the abstract stuff and seeing how that evolves. As I said, I’ve got a million ideas, I just wish I had a million fingers to manifest them all!