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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Motivation, Interrupted

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth,  I can at least thank the force of gravity for that.  It's been a simple case of being mired in the Doldrums, where any hint of a creative spark was promptly doused by a bucket full of "meh".  My Muse took a vacation, and was probably lounging on a beach somewhere with the Travelocity Gnome.

To be sure that my brain was still working, and not reduced to just a gelatinous mass whose sole purpose is to keep my skull from collapsing inward like a dying planet, I prodded a few inert neurons into life and sat down at the easel to do a little alla prima painting.

Now, I'm not an alla prima kinda gal.  I don't whip up a painting in a single sitting like a cake recipe.  I tweak.  I adjust.  I calibrate.  I fully admit that I'm powerless over my addiction to multiple layers of glazing.  But this was all about zapping dormant creativity back to life, so here goes.

The sketch was done on black gessoed paper, then a Cad Red Light underpainting was applied.


First some background....



Then on to the turtle herself....


And finally, an alla prima painting:


I had to make myself put down the brushes and back away from the easel before my trembling hand could reach for the glazing liquid.  But like the Polar Bear Series before her, I can see the potential for experimenting with various techniques with this subject.

Ahh...it's good to be back.

10 comments:

Jenna said...

love her!....and it's good to have you back!

Jeanette Jobson said...

Welcome back to the land of paint.

The turtle is magnificent. What a return!

Claire Beadon Carnell said...

I think it is good to step back and re-energize now and then. This is just wonderful, and I love seeing your process. Good to have you back (I am still thinking about all of your creative polar bears!)

RH Carpenter said...

Welcome back (I don't blame the muses for retreating to a warm, sunny beach right now). Looks like you are back in top form - this is beautiful.

Pat said...

Wow!
What a great painting!

Anonymous said...

Good to see your explorations again and to read your witty text!
Jennifer

C... said...

That's gorgeous

debwardart said...

Yippee - I was about to send out a search party! Love Ms. Turtle - and am looking forward to a (possible, maybe) series of turtles to perk up my winter doldrums! Like you, it's taken a while but I've just begun to paint for 2011. So, don't be a stranger - we are looking forward to more, more, more!

Lisa Walsh said...

Thanks Jenna, and it's good to hear from you!

A visit to the land of paint always perks me up, Jeanette. Thanks!

Hi there Claire, and thank you. I think the batteries have been recharged.

Thanks Rhonda. A little (or maybe a lot!) of beach time sounds good right about now, doesn't it?

Pat, Jennifer, C. - thanks for your kind comments.

Hiya Deb. Maybe next time I take a mental mini-vacation, I'll send out postcards! Thanks, and looking forward to seeing what you're up to in 2011.

Nancy Goldman said...

Thanks for the WIP pics Lisa. Boy, it sure went through some major changes and the final painting has so much energy and I love the colors.