Tossing out the rules for art for more fun!
I desired to loosen up and have more fun in the studio. So,I threw out my old rules for art and went on an adventure.
As a naturally compliant woman, sure to follow the tried and true, I pondered what would transpire if I intentionally played in making art! Taking things too seriously had become tiresome!
pink frames and avoiding precision
I’d not played in the studio before because I hated wasting time, materials, and money. So, I devised rules to ameliorate that.
The first rule was to ask, ‘what’s in my hand’. I chose xix pink 8×10 picture frames left over from a promotion at my by-gone business to present the new works. The works were created on beautiful archival watercolour paper I had unearthed in a stack of art books.
When children play, without the intervention of grownups, rules are created and dispatched in order to have a good time. They learn from this. I wanted that.
My guidelines were avoid precision and criticism. The six works required a bit of cohesion, so a circle and a horizon line were added to them all, and identical Inktense colours were applied. They needed to look good in the pink frames, without being overtly girly.
free-flowing media and dutch gold leaf
Lines flowed from my pigment ink pen whilst I amplified emerging shapes that came from flow of the Inktense as it dried on the paper. How would I play wth those lines? Coloured pencil tweaked the shades, to my delight. Mostly. If I didn’t appreciate the outcome, I’d go in another direction. Or, just live with it. This worked surprisingly well.
Next came dutch gold leaf and silver leaf. Originally, I wanted copper leaf on one pair. I was fresh out. Silver and gold would do.
adulting for a few days and other world affairs
The only “un-playful” aspect of this playtime was the 3 days spent making space to properly set up my mat cutter. The remainder of the year shall be more rewarding now. I can play in the studio and then properly mat and frame the results for display.
While I was in my art space playing. I had to block out the news of the Ukraine invasion and changes to Covid regulations in NZ. I’m sure they did influence the outcome. Can such events not have an impact?
Silly Names and new work for sale
The final fun was choosing light-hearted non sequitur titles for the works. More throwing out the rules for art! I hope you enjoy them. Which title is your favourite? Which visual is your favourite? Please let me know in the comments.
These are archivally framed and matted. If you’d rather have black or white moulding or mat let me know when you place the order. However, I think the presentation choices are, well, they’re fun! The price includes shipping and framing New Zealand wide. Contact me if you need more information.
