Being OK with Messes and the Unknown
Tequila, mixed media on canvas, 14″ x 18″, ©Kellie Day, Available
I always dream of having a luxurious amount of time to get ready for art exhibits, and doing an amazing body of groundbreaking work. Pshaw. The truth is, it never happens.
The time gets filled with work and family, and someone gets sick or a vacation comes up, and inevitably it comes down to the wire and I pull the exhibit out my wazoo.
I work hard on several pieces, but there are never enough, and the body of work is never consistent enough, and some of it is sparked by commercial assignments. But somehow it all comes together.
Although you may judge this as sloppy or crappy and not a real artist at all – this is truth, this is life. This is the magic of what I have to offer.
Some day when I’m old and my child has grown, and my house is paid off, I’ll have all the time to do art, but not nearly the vibrance. The time crunch, the assignments, the sweat over new paintings, are all ingredients in Art Exhibit Stew. A highly, imperfect practice.
What’s really saving me this time is these little paintings I make for demos when I teach classes. They are messy, they are loose, and I think most importantly I am not attached to them. Which is their charm.
Daisy Dally, detail – mixed media on canvas, 14″ x 18″, ©Kellie Day, Available
Looking around my disheveled art studio, I pulled out several demos that had “great bones”, as my friend Bill Liske says about old houses that are worth fixing up. These are worth fixing up. The messes and the blurry lines are what keeps them loose and gives them light. Because I was carefree when I painted them, they have great shapes and movement.
An entire wall of my upcoming show, including one that already sold, will be demo paintings that I’m whipping into shape. HiYA! and Boy Howdy. Stop by if you’re in town!
If you’re in the Ridgway Colorado May 12, join us for an art opening at Cimarron Coffee Roasters … more info to come soon! Stay tuned to my facebook page, where I always post the latest.
To inquire about purchasing these paintings, please contact me here.