I can’t believe some of the shit my brain says. I wouldn’t let anyone talk to me the way I talk to myself when I try to paint.
Goya, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
I pretend the voice is coming from a person who is standing in the room. I can’t help but laugh and pity them because the person is obviously being such a miserably selfish turd that I can’t even take what they say seriously.
Whenever they start up again, I pause and look at them.
I check my mood. Why does this keep coming up today? Am I tired? Am I worried about something? How is this effecting my status or concerns?
Breathe. Yeah, yeah. I know. I’ll do it in a minute… or tomorrow. No really. Breathe. Breathe again. Continue breathing.
I try to treat myself as I would a good friend. If I’m too low and that’s difficult, I try to treat myself as a good friend would treat me.
Sometimes I’m just bombarded and tired, and I take a tiny nap. If I’m pushing myself too hard it’s likely I’ll wake up feeling better after giving myself a break.
My last V. Note proclaimed itself “the first of four posts highlighting black artists with professional careers in both painting and printmaking.” I had done an internet search for black artists, and found a Wiki page with a fantastic list of artists I could research. To narrow down the list, I looked for all the artists …
Abed Abdi, Muslim Painter Lately I have been interested in what happens to the focus of making art when artists live in politically turbulent times. What happens to your artwork when you feel anxious, confused, frustrated, angry, blindsided, and destabilized? What happens to your artwork when you feel like your opinion is valued, and what …
You are 2/3 the way through our 30 Day Challenge. To see what you missed in the past 19 days, click here. Today we have transcription challenge. For this, make something inspired by Winslow Homer’s “The Herring Net” (oil on canvas 30 1/8 × 48 3/8 in). What’s a transcription? In art, to transcribe is to copy or …
One year ago in March, to protect our students and teachers from a new coronavirus, the Seattle Artist League moved our classes online. The virus was declared a national emergency, and we went into quarantine. We have now been in quarantine for thirteen months. Through this year, we have met each other online to draw, …
The Inner Critic
Painting above: Xue Wang, Uninvited Guest
I can’t believe some of the shit my brain says. I wouldn’t let anyone talk to me the way I talk to myself when I try to paint.
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