Yes, the post is “late” this week. Not for lack of trying. I started it a couple of times. I was going to write about a lesson from years ago that I’ve recently had an opportunity to benefit from again. And then I realized, I didn’t really want to write about that. So, I did a step back to figure out what I wanted to write about and discovered, I don’t really have much to say this week.
Though as I thought of that, as often happens, a line from a song popped into my head and I had to mentally sing along. The song, ‘Angel From Montgomery’ the line, ‘How can a person, go to work in the morning, come home in the evening, have nothin’ to say?’ Welcome to my brain.
So. Since I don’t have much to say this week, I’ll share what I’m working on.
My current painting is of the headstock of a Gretsch. A day job colleague has a few guitars and several years ago, he was gracious enough to spend a couple of hours one afternoon letting me take pictures of them. In a life previous to being in technology, he was a working musician. Many, if not all of his guitars are from that time and are decades old, so they have great history baked into them. The fretboard wear, the aged metal, the dings and scratches, and aged wood, all combine to tell a cool story. They have lived a life.
One of the things I’ve been wanting to do has been to share my guitar affection through my art. I’ve completed, or started a few different paintings of guitars, well, parts of guitars, over the years. A couple of those have been using acrylic ink to have color for the stippling. One, I painted in oils. The first real oil painting I’ve done. And it still needs to be signed and sealed, (varnished). When I decided to paint a guitar after I finished the last piece, I thought about choosing one of those styles, methods, to do this piece because I wanted it to be in color. Then, since I’ve been working in watercolor and colored pencil, I decided I’d give that a go. I am pleasantly surprised to find it working out better than I expected. And it’s not the fight I thought it might be.
I am always fascinated to watch as a painting comes together. There is the initial sketch for reference and layout. It is often the first bit that surprises me. When I get it just right on the paper to the point that I could finish it out as a pencil drawing and it would be just as impactful, then I know it has real potential as a painting. Then there is starting to add the color. The biggest part of the color for me is getting the shade right. That’s when I can really start to see the possibilities.
This piece as been a treat to watch come together. At each step, each day I work on it, at the end of the session I step back hopeful it’s progressing in the right direction. And then I look at it a little stunned and amazed. Stunned and amazed because all the little bits, small touches, and tweaks, as well as the big strokes are coming together to build the image I hoped for when I started.
I am very detail oriented and working in watercolor versus pencil is really challenging to me because once I put color to the paper, I’m mostly committed to the layout, dimensions, placement, and shapes, fixing it if it’s off isn’t an easy option. I’ve had to learn to accept that this is art and may not be exacting with every detail being in the exact place, or even size. That has been a very interesting learning experience with this piece, as well as previous watercolor pieces. It’s a learning to let go and trust.
It can get a bit addictive and obsessive, building a piece of art. I find I easily lose time once I get started. I’ve lost so much sleep because I’ve thought, one more tiny bit and then I’ll stop, and the next thing I know it’s two or three hours later. I’ve had more than a couple of nights like that working on this piece. I’ll probably have one or two more as I work to finish it. And I can’t wait to see the final painting.
Now, for those of you who might be wondering, and might be newer readers. Yes, I do play guitar. As well as make art. I’ve had a guitar for most of my life and played off and on over the years. I try to play with friends on occasion. It has made me a better musician, playing with people. And playing with random, not set groups of people has been a lot of fun. Getting up on stage with a bunch of musicians, some that I’ve never played with before, and calling a key, and a tempo, and coming together to play a song is a lot like the experience I have with creating my art. There is a requirement to just take care of what you’re doing, pay attention to each other, and then trust. Trust that each person will do their part to make the song work and hopefully sound good, while having fun.
And here I thought I had ‘nothin’ to say’. Enjoy the pictures. I’ll have the final piece up on the store as soon as I finish it. Cheers!