Tomorrow’s end-of-week (Friday File) post will mark the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of my first ‘why art?’ post !! I haven’t missed a single week during the year and of this I am particularly proud. Committing to the relatively small task of posting a painting, drawing or article every Friday has given me focus, clarity, inspiration & confidence […]
Tag: painting
Painting a Storm
Grey Storm / acrylic on watercolour paper / 7.5″ x 7.5″
the most amazing thing
A few weeks ago I saw purple clouds in a yellow sky. Such an odd and whimsical occurrence, I thought, because I’d never seen this before. (Or maybe I hadn’t been paying attention). This sighting was so remarkable to me I finally, after many days, made a note of the sky and colours in my […]
oui, en fait / a small painting
oui, en fait / acrylic on canvas paper / 8″ x 6″ / landscape painting / janet bright
at the edge
trees at the edge / 6″ x 6″ / acrylic on canvas paper / janet bright / landscape
is it done?
There is no standard method in painting to determine if a piece of art is ‘done’ or ‘not done’; no thermometer, measuring stick or time clock to signal the completion of the task of creating. There is always the question, how can you know when ‘creating’ is complete for any work of art or innovation? […]
beyond repair
Sometimes a painting is so awful it’s beyond repair. I spent the morning studying a phone; an old-type phone, pink, pretty- interesting. I studied, sketched, re-sketched painted and repainted. Detail, highlight, shadow, shape; I was getting to know this phone and yet (ugh) – everything went to pieces (torn to shreds) and into the garbage. […]
crappy art
What makes art ‘good’? Is ‘good’ determined by how real a painting looks, by a pleasing combination of colour tones, by the subject of a painting? Or is ‘good’ simply and only about how you feel when you look at one particular piece of art? Does it matter how long it takes an artist to create […]
lost in translation
I have a friend who, while awaiting her mother in a professional office one day, found herself face to face with one of her mother’s colleagues. Because my friend felt nervous in this place where she was so clearly ‘out-of-place’, she stood abruptly, thinking, “this man must be wondering who I am and what I’m […]
i like it. i hate it.
What is it that makes you like something or not? Regardless of what an artist has to say about their work, people will like or dislike something based solely on how they are feeling the exact moment they see it. Reactions can’t be controlled, and an artist can talk until they’re blue in the face about […]
how to create
Ever wonder where the ability to create comes from? Is it talent, education, awareness (something else)? Or, is ‘art ability’ a state of mind? So many times I’ve heard people say (about any work of art), “I could never do that; I can’t even draw a stick person; I’m not creative”. And I wonder, could that really be […]
wilderness / 48″ x 48″
wilderness / 48″ x 48″ / acrylic on canvas