So I was continuing my clouds in this piece, only this time I was trying out a larger formate. In the last two paintings I used fairly small canvases and was beginning to feel claustrophobic or too confined with my brush strokes. This piece is based off of a picture that I took of the sky. The colors of the sky in contrast to the darker colors of the clouds are what drew me in and made me decide to pull over while I was driving to snap some pictures. I think its interesting how colors and something as simply as clouds, which are just these intangible forms of condensed water vapors, can affect one's mood so easily. However, although I felt this concept was interesting I don't think I was truly connecting with the subject matter. Over time I felt like my interest in the piece itself was diminishing to the point where I really was just going through the motions of painting this picture I was staring at. I was detachment from the piece, which I felt was definitely showing through in the work. I would not say that I am typically one to give up on something or take the easy way out and quite, I like to push myself to my limits because I really do like to learn, but after Elaine came up to me and told me what she saw as I was working on it, I realized that sometimes its ok to move on before completing something. I create art because I enjoy it. I think there is something remarkable about the process of creating something, it allows you to think and let your mind wander in all different directions. It kind of brings me into another world for a little while. These are all things that I felt like I was loosing towards the end of time in which I worked on this piece, and scared me a bit.
Our field trip to the cities however, came at a good time. Getting to listen to other much more experienced artists talk about their process of bringing meaning to a piece, as well as hearing their story of their life as an artist was really helpful. I believe his name was Jonas, talked about a time period or a transition that he went through where he felt he was losing interest in what he was doing in his art. Which though it may sound selfish to say that that was good to hear, it was comforting in the sense that I wasn't alone in this boat and that paddling in a new direction is sometimes a good idea.
All in all, this piece is unfinished for the time being, maybe at another time I will become re-inspired and come back to it or just paint over it, but not all was lost. There were still plenty of things that I learned from it while I was painting it, as well as when I was transitioning to the next painting.
