Resting and Ready

Resting and Ready is the name of this week’s painting and post. What prompted this title? I will share the painting inspiration and the place today. But, before I do, here are some quick facts about this blog. This is a place where, each week, I share my paintings and inspiration plus an occasional dose of art history. Whether this is your first or millionth visit here, hiya, hello and a warm welcome! I choose a theme to guide my paintings each year. To read about this year’s painting theme, check the description in this link here. To subscribe and get a weekly dose of color for yourself, subscribe here. Now I think it’s time to share a few thoughts about resting and ready. Ready?

Inspiration for this Week’s Painting

Last week I shared several inspiring and incredible paintings we saw during a whirlwind, self-guided tour of museums in the Netherlands, France and Spain. But for most of this month, I have been working on a painting right outside our backdoor. And, it’s inspired by an American painter whose work is in right here in Raleigh at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Isn’t that typical? To think we have to wander all over the world, only to find a treasure right in front of us? I’m speaking of the prolific and emotional work of Andrew Wyeth. In particular, I am thinking of how he personifies tools as subjects in his paintings. For instance, check out this painting entitled Wash Bucket.

You may think I’m a bit off here but I love the way the bucket is leaning to the left. It’s almost as if it’s in conversation with the vent on the left. But my eye (yours?) keeps going back to that bucket. It’s small but has a big presence.

Inside the Artist’s Mind

Wyeth painted all of his life. And, it shows. He can create melody and melancholy and mood in his paintings. I can’t help but wonder how he came to create what he did. So, I found a treasure trove of his thinking in the book entitled “Two Worlds of Andrew Wyeth: Kuerners and Olsons.” (I found my copy at a used bookstore. If you click on the link, you can download a PDF of the book thanks to the Metropolitan Museum of New York).

Here’s one of my favorite Wyeth quotes from the book, “The only thing that I want to search for is the growth and depth of my emotion towards a given object.” Oooh la la! Now there’s a gem I can ponder off and on for the rest of my painting life!

Why Resting and Ready

As I worked on the painting I’m sharing this week, I attempted to get beyond the technical challenges and to think about what I felt and saw in my own backyard. And, the wheelbarrow and the empty planter each eventually got me to realize their purpose. Now if I could only get to work using these nifty garden tools, eh? Ha! If it comes down to it, I would rather paint than garden. But shhhh, don’t tell anyone that.

Set Up for Resting and Ready

I started off painting this painting on a late afternoon a few weeks ago. Then unsettling and rainy weather moved in. This didn’t stop me from working on the painting from my imagination in the studio. When the weather got a bit more friendly, last week, I got to work. Oops! Wind knocked over my palette and easel. Gah!

This week the weather was much more cooperative. Here’s the set up.

One of the challenges of working outdoors is the constantly changing light. I chose the afternoon light even though there were days when I painted before lunch.

This Week’s Painting

Here’s this week’s painting entitled “Resting and Ready.” It’s 6×12 inches on a linen panel. I love the way the wheelbarrow in particular looks ready to get to work. And that cast shadow of the wheelbarrow handles was so much fun.

If you enjoy this painting and want to call it your own, it’s yours for $197 + $14.28 tax + $25 shipping = $236.28. Simply PayPal.Me here.

And You

How about you gentle reader? Have you discovered inspiration right in front of you (or in your backyard) this week? If so, please do tell! I would love to hear all about it in the comments below.