“A good abstract should work from at least 3 sides”. I heard this from a very accomplished abstract artist set up next to me at a show recently. I know that; I paint that way; but I had never spoken it quite so definitively. As my life has been on full tilt, as my career feels like it is a study of shifting sands, “Art imitates life” has smacked me full in the face.
As in, I can look at all of the changes I am dealing with and working through in a negative way, or I can take a new perspective and ensure a positive result with a positive attitude.
-Because I didn’t sell well this year on my Florida circuit I have enough inventory to relax the painting schedule and take the time to write, build a marketing plan, and explore new distribution channels.
-Because there aren’t customers clamoring to get to the studio at 10 or 11 every day I can redefine my space from retail shop to artist studio and set new (more relaxed) hours which allow me to train for the half marathon without getting up at the crack of dawn. Or sit here at the coffee shop to write my blog. Or close early to enjoy time with my son from out of town who is in town for a visit.
-Because my studio is full, I have two complete bodies of work that I can present. Relaxed from deadlines, I push the envelop of my own creative style and explore the next level of “What if?” with the painting currently on the easel.
We all have the freedom to choose the perspective by which we look at things. I am amazed at how we see the positive in others’ lives, but take the negative road in our own. I see wisdom and strength in a friend’s face; she sees wrinkles. I see a friend looking younger; she sees weight gain. I see a woman’s hair as “silver fox” she sees it as old and gray.
As an abstract artist I am accomplished at looking at the world differently. Emotion, color, line, texture, and composition jump out at me more than image, scene, location, or place. I am enamored by the beauty behind and under the obvious. “Life imitates art.” We would all benefit if we started looking for the beauty that underlies the shifts in life. “Life imitates art.” It is the highlights and lowlights that add dimension to a painting and to life. Looking at life as an abstract painting. Sounds like a great perspective to embrace.