Should We Paint To Please?

 

"Paint to express, not to impress." -Flora Bowley

I don't think so.  There is so much wisdom in that simple quote, yet I struggle.  I don’t think I'm alone, we all want to be liked and to have people like what we do.  But …. Does it make us feel good about our work.

For a while it does, in fact it could last a very long time.  I enjoyed my watercolors because I love old boats and old structures which were often the subjects in those paintings.  The structures were either old shacks or interesting buildings.  Sometimes just a bunch of buoys got my attention.  The boats were classic and eventually I zeroed in on old rowboats.

But I became bored with the process.  Still loved the subject but my pouring process took a long time and I needed something more.  I began exploring.  I wanted to make the kind of art I admired – expressive and personal – and I wasn’t doing it.  At least I didn’t feel like I was doing it.

What I didn't realize then is that the praise I was getting for my watercolors was holding me back from exploring anything new.  Very much like my work life, a new job kept me interested for about 5 years, then it was time to make a change.  It’s the learning and exploring new ways of doing that keeps me interested.

As I kept painting, experimenting, sketching and journaling I began to feel more enthusiastic about what I was doing.  Even though I have no idea where all this is going.  It’s the journey so I’ll keep going. I’m reminded of something a friend said to me when she was talking about listening to her angels direct her.  I said no angels talk to me.  Her response was “Oh yes, they talk to you, you just don’t listen.”  I’m trying to listen now.

I know boats and water are still important, representation of them is already showing up in my sketchbook.

And though not everyone will recognize it, there’s a boat in a recently finished painting.

What can I say, I’m a Pisces, water will always be important.  And my dad, another Pisces, taught me to love boats.  They are a great way to be on water when one can’t be in it.  Every now and then I'll probably do another one that you can actually see.  Meanwhile I'm going to keep experimenting and will see how often something nautical shows up.