Another lesson reinforced at the Taos Intensive Studies Seminar (see blog post dated 5/6/14) was that too much detail ruins many paintings - look at what is most important and leave the rest out.

My original painting based on this photo I took at Mt. Rainer included detailed trees in the background, the mountain and the cloud. I was asked, "What is it that draws you to this subject?" My answer was, "The colors". "Then gray the rest down" was the advice (twice!). And so I did (though it was really hard to obliterate what I had labored on so carefully!) and darned if it didn't make for a better painting!

In April, 2014 I was fortunate to be able to attend the 18th Annual Intensive Studies Seminar in Taos, NM with 79 talented artists, all intent on moving out of their artistic comfort zones. For nine days we painted, using our favorite mediums,  assisted, critiqued and inspired by our teachers, Fran Larsen, Skip Lawrence, Christopher Schink and Katherine Chang Liu (www.isstaos.com). What a wonderful experience - the energy in the room was palpable!


Focusing on the "Why" we create art vs. the "How" to create art, this workshop gave me many lessons to practice. The first was making my art about expression, not representation ("Paint the smell, not the flower."). We were encouraged to start with an idea, a scene, a feeling in our gut that needed to be expressed, then express it with authority; eliminating all details that did not directly aid in that expression. This is not as easy as it sounds!

It was suggested that we give our piece, before starting it, a generic title that gives voice to what we wanted to convey and to use as a litmus test when tempted to add unnecessary details.  I wanted to express the power of the ocean (intimidating to me being a sinker vs. a swimmer!) so I named my piece "Power". Did I succeed in painting the force and chaotic nature of the surf?