Tuesday, February 1, 2011

About courage when painting . .

I found this quote from Massachusetts painter, Debi Pendall, in Nancy Reyner's book, Acrylic Revolution:


Debi Pendall in her studio

"In the process of painting, many emotions can come up, like frustration, anger and fear. If you hold back, the work shows repression and the desire to be polite, . . . . Instead, welcome all these emotions, including joy, allowing things to flow. All you have inside will then pour out and the censoring stops. Don't be afraid of the struggle."   

I'm remembering a book, Art & Fear, by David Bayles and Ted Orland,


      that I have on my bookshelf and haven't read it. Think I'll look again at it. Debi says,  "don't be afraid of the struggle" . . a welcome reminder . . as I've discovered that I'm not the only artist who struggles with "bringing up" an image that works for them.



4 comments:

  1. Nice quote. I do a lot of struggling in the studio, so maybe my work is to not be afraid of it! I have this book too! Haven't looked at it in a good while. Reminds me to pull it out.

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  2. I found this book very helpful when I read it a year ago.
    Debi Pendall's studio is amazing....

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  3. I also have a copy of this book. I browse through it every so often and feel like the authors are reading my mind. Recommend it to all creative minds.

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  4. Thanks for visiting here Carole and Jo . . . :)

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