It's really funny sometimes how our minds work. A confluence of projects and thought processes came together to suggest a new collection of paintings related to my "muse," which I consider to be that creative child within who just wants to play with paint. I'm not even sure I can describe how this came together, but it's starting to be a lot of fun.
The first stimulus was the challenge to paint something inspired by a poem for the Utah Watercolor Society's fall exhibition. That reminded me of a poem I wrote about seven years ago, about looking for that creative child who had been "lost" or "abandoned" as my life became overwhelmed with responsibilities to work, earn, care for others, etc.
Then, my homework assignment for a figure painting class called for a self-portrait incorporating collage and mixed media. Why not practice some compositions in preparation for the UWS painting, I thought. That homework process produced two paintings and the beginnings of a series about the creative child (a.k.a. "muse").
One of the best discoveries in this thought process was the realization that my muse speaks to me in a child-like process of playing with paint. I can be very serious and disciplined about planning a painting, but it's often not my best work. The key to a good painting, for me at least, is to collaborate with that playful child to maintain the element of spontaneity in the finished work.
Today's image shows the frustrated artist unaware of the muse who is there all along.
