My New Art Supplies

Maybe it was something I discovered in my latest foray into my favorite art supply store.

Maybe I saw it in a post that intrigued me.

Maybe it was the installation that absolutely rivitted me at that last gallery.

Maybe it was that incredible magazine that I revisit again and again.

All I know is that I can't sit still until I actually have that new medium and tool in my own studio. It goes far beyond obsession and avarice. 

What joy it is to open a new tin of watercolor pencils, a new block of special paper, a new and utterly different tool! How excited I become with the possibilities!

Sometimes all it takes to emerge from the desert is to strike off in a new creative direction. 

For most of my life as an artist I was very driven by other people's opinion of my work. It was more than economics. At the back of my mind, even when I was working on something that had not been commissioned, I still contemplated how it could be marketed. 

This is a terrible trap. The art director says "The sky behind the hero needs to be darker." The curator at the gallery says "The blue paintings sold the best. Can you make more of them?"

Yes, I must make concessions in order to sell my work. But after a time, these compromises devour my soul.

Everyday, I set aside time for "me work", creative acts that are solely self-initiated with no thought for remuneration. 

It is in this work that my new art supplies are put to use. I can afford to take risks because there is no possibility of failure. All is exploration and experimentation.

And from this new territory comes the most amazing results!