| You could say I’ve been “into” older women recently… specifically Paleolithic women memorialized in carved stone. The subject of the paintings shown above is the “Venus of Willendorf,” though there are many similar figures dating from 10,000 to 30,000 years ago. They are frequently called “Venus figurines,” though they predate temple worship of the specific deity Venus by several millennia. The original Willendorf carving is 4.4” tall which is not that much larger than the 3” x 4” panels I’ve been using. Though scholars continue to debate the original significance of these figures, they function as tiny goddesses in my work. I paint them partially as a meditative practice, partially to warm up for longer painting sessions. I use the largest brush I can manage on these small panels, in order to focus on simplification, on describing the form with the fewest number of strokes necessary. The original sculptures are small yet their gestures are fluid and eloquent, their forms convey a definite personality. Since my work in recent months has focused on the human form, I feel a spiritual kinship across the millennia to whomever crafted them. Painting these tiny preparatory studies has helped me learn to look past the details to see the simple elegance in shape. I am reminded of the 80/20 Pareto principle, the notion that 80% of the impact often comes from 20% of the effort. Effective work is not always a matter of piling on more minutiae. And oddly enough, it’s taken me months of work to begin to approach that kind of elegant simplicity. Would something similar work for you and your work? Could you better grasp your “big picture” by “going small?” Are there details getting in the way of the overall gesture? Can you convey your current project in a single sentence? A single word? It might take an hour of writing and revising to capture it… and that work might be worth the effort especially if you feel stuck. If you try this strategy, send me a message, whether it worked or not. I will be giving away “tiny goddess” paintings all throughout June 2021 to celebrate my birthday. Watch for details in future letters. To see work available now, check out my ON-LINE ART STORE. |