Halloween 2009

Please feel free to comment! I want to know

who's looking and what you think. Thanks.

I'm done! So here is my latest and largest painting. It's 18 in x 24 in, quite a bit bigger than my usual canvas. That size allowed me to try something new out, a themed/collage/whatever I want painting. This was a blast to paint, and regardless of the marketability or practicality of it, it was worth it. Since I don't have much time to paint lately, this was a great way to fit a little in here and there whenever organic chemistry had particularly frustrated me. I could paint a little section and walk away for a few days until I came back to add something else. It also helped me work on a problem that I have painting- commitment.

More specifically, the lack of creativity I've shown lately due to being scared to experiment. There comes a time in almost every painting where I have at least two distinct paths I could take stylistically, and fearing the chance of screwing everything up, I usually take the safer/more boring approach. I hate it, but I haven't been able to get over that fear until now. Having this huge 'sketch pad' of a canvas allowed me to experiment on different approaches, ideas, color combinations, styles and more without having to commit to an entire painting of it. I got to try things out, see what I like, see how some ideas I've had floating around in my brain look on canvas. The result is a somewhat messy collection of painted Halloween. I plan on always having some big canvases around to use as my sketch pad. Then when they get filled up, I'll sign it and call it a painting! The idea actually came from my far distant dream of the studio I'll have in my house. I've planned on priming my walls so I can use it as a test site for all my ideas/colors, eventually ended up as a huge mural around the room. Then a few weeks ago I thought of a way I could start that in this decade... And I guess another idea played into this creation too, this time one from the past. When I was still painting in acrylic like four years ago I had a little thing I liked to call "Paint Therapy" which was pretty much me streaking, splattering, and smearing paint around vigorously to get out whatever emotion I had building up inside. So while the products were always quite abstract, the process itself is what I loved. It was my outlet, where I painted for the sake of painting, to escape. So I wanted more freedom to enjoy the painting process and express myself like I did back then, and this worked out perfectly.

So here is the, as of now, titled 'Halloween 2009'. I'll take a better picture once it dries a bit and I can take it off the easel. I'll include a zoomed out pic too show the size. Disclaimer: I may add/change things in the next few days, that's my right as an artist :)