An Anniversary And No Regrets

One year ago this evening was the last time I stood in a theatre as a designer of a play or musical. Since then I have continued to work as an electrician, carpenter and production manager here and there, but I have turned down the five or six design offers I have received in that time. And just this week I declined an opportunity to show my portfolio to a company that only two years ago I would have jumped through hoops in order to have the chance of working with.

I find I don't miss it. I don't miss the piss poor pay, I don't miss the process and I don't miss the politics. 

What I do miss are some of the people. There are a number of colleagues who have become close friends, but with whom my main social interaction was through working on shows together. I have not been nearly good enough about bridging that gap to make those wonderful folk a regular part of my life and I must be better about that.

I have been amazed and overwhelmed by how so many people have been supportive of my decision to shift my artistic focus. Even people I do not know very well have expressed admiration at my willingness and desire to do something different with my time here on earth.

I have also appreciated the encounters I have had with people in the business who have no idea I have left it. It proves what I thought, that the American theatre would not feel bereft at my departure. And lest you think I am fishing for a compliment or indulging in self pity*, let me be plain. I like that no one in theatre has ben clamoring for my return because then I don't have to face the decision about whether or not to do so. Under these circumstances it is in fact a relief to not be missed.

In this intervening year I have continued to try and work towards my goal of working as a studio artist, despite frequent frustrations with how the visions in my head are at the moment beyond my technical abilities to express. I keep chipping away at it and I do see progress. 

Interestingly, the desire to make painting the sole source of my income has not been a driving factor in my pursuit of the art form, at least not at the same level as when I was working as a theatrical designer. I am not really sure what, if anything, that means. Sure I would like for people to like my work enough to purchase it, and I have no intention of selling my work for less than other artists are selling their work of comparable size/ medium/ style/etc. But for the moment at least, my main motivation behind the idea of possibly selling my work is to make room in the studio so that I can paint more canvases.

So although I won't say definitively that I am done with theatre forever; for the right script and the right group of collaborators and for a company with the resources to do a show well I would certainly be interested in coming onboard for a project**; I am for the moment perfectly content to sit back and revel and celebrate my friends efforts in the creation of the theatrical art. I continue to love the theatre, and it is great fun to sit and watch a show with absolutely nothing personally at stake.

I say "Farewell" to the business of show with no regrets. I am excited by this new adventure I am on.

Peace in yer crease.

* A failing I am often guilty of, I will readily admit***

** But let's face it, good script, good collaborators and a company with the resources to do it well are sort of the Unicorn Who Farts Glitter

*** The self pity part, I try really hard to avoid that whole "Fishing for compliments" thing.

One Of The Paintings I Am Currently Working On

There have been a lot of thoughts, mostly distressing, swirling through my mind over the past couple of months. Often at such a pace that I barely have time to even acknowledge one before another come screaming up at me. I will probably write more on a couple of those topics in other posts, but for the moment I am trying to quiet all of those voices and so I will instead share one of the paintings I am currently working on.

As Of Yet Untitled
Oil on canvas.

Since this photo I have done the first pass at the color on the body.  The results were not quite what I wanted, so I will be working more on that aspect before I start to layer on color across the whole piece. I am hoping to have this to a point of calling it done by the end of September.

There are two other paintings in less advanced stages, but I have been paused working on them as they seem to have gone really awry and I am still trying to figure out what to do about them (other than just starting over).

Peace in yer crease.

Been Awhile: Alternatively Titled "Inane Ramblings"

I have not posted here in quite a while. There has been no real reason for my silence. I have been alternatively busy making a living and busy looking for a job. I have tried to be in front of an easel as much as I can, although that has not always worked out. I went on vacation to Rome in March.

But none of that really explains my silence here. I just looked and my last published post was the beginning of November. I am not sure I have a coherent response to the question of why I have not been writing here.

There has been some painting (which I really need to get better at photographing):

                                       

Railroad Spikes
Oil on Canvas Board

                                       
                                       

Folding Carpenters Rule With Clown Nose
Oil on Canvas Board

Red Peppers & Onion
Oil on Canvas Board

Each of these were done as part of a daily painting experiment. One small (8 x 10) panel per day. That has unfortunately fallen by the wayside as I have been spending more time doing paintings based on drawings done in the figure drawing sessions I have been attending.

Seated Male Nude
Oil on Canvas Board

Reclining Female Nude
Oil on Canvas

The reclining female is still in an early stage. There are many more layers to go. I am held up at the moment because I am cat sitting for my father again. Once Zimba goes home on Sunday I plan to get back to a couple of paintings that are in early to mid process. Like this one:

It is taken from the same drawing as the one above, but is on a much larger scale, 24 x 36 instead of 11 x 14. The next step will be a greyscale underpainting. Then will come layers of color. It is this approach that appeals most to me, as opposed to alla- prima.

I have also begun an experiment with different recipes for medium. More on that later.

I have not been nearly as productive as I should be in either drawing or painting. There is a fair amount of anxiety I feel about the continued job search. I have had a couple of interviews which seemed promising but ended up going nowhere. I keep looking.