Fast Water #2
oil on panel 6" x 8"
from 'notes to myself on beginning a painting'
"Attempt what is not certain.
Certainty may or may not come later.
It may then be a valuable delusion."
Richard Diebenkorn
These notes point to a man whose working method is a large part a kind of solving a puzzling labyrinth. The best impetus I have found for getting a painting going, regardless of style or subject, is to embrace the idea of plunging into uncertainty. This does not require throwing over composition or color or any other important skill or approach - instead a willingness to avoid making the same paintings over and over. The most difficult task in painting is ti ignore the safety of similarities and push toward change. I used to tell students that it was the same as jumping off the high dive and trusting there will be water in the pool - a leap of faith.- that is what Diebenkorn was after to get a work started. Perhaps his 'valuable delusion' was simply a way to get out of the labyrinth. Enjoy!
Fast Water #1
oil on panel 6"x 8"
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