A Full Confession And A Double Digression

May 8, 2016
   I learned something from Curator Cal. Every so often I need to clear the decks. Took some doing because I had five different projects piled onto my work space, but got up early and bailed in and at six o'clock this morning this is how my work space looked:

Daily Pre-Whip Out: "A Clean Slate"

   Lots of things I love on the sidelines of this photo, above, including Kathy, Horn Dog Horn, the Arizona flag, Doc Holliday, Fritz Scholder postcards, and a scratchboard of The Trickster With The Sidewinder Gaze. Decided, this last one was the one to spend a little time on by attempting an ominous, cloud background to place behind the Trickster:

Daily Whip Out In progress

   You will note, Arzach's "phallic tower" is on the desk for color inspiration and behind that is a framed Daily Whip Out: "Apache Midnite" which is one my best cloud studies ever (and I just realized it too is very phallic!).

Daily Whip Out In Progress 2.5

   I often panic when I'm laying in the washes on a Daily Whip Out, and I inevitably grab another watercolor pad and start a second background while the first one is drying. This happened to me here and you can see the second background attempt, at far left, which will possibly become another painting, on another subject, like, say lightning. This perhaps casts some light on why my discard pile is so large. So many attempts, like this, end up here:

BBB Discards Galore As Seen From The Roof of Our Garage

   But, full confession: this is a double digression. As I fiddle with this post, I am dodging the hard work of the assignment AND the assignment I have chosen for the moment—The Trickster With The Sidewinder Gaze—which is a digression from the actual assignment which I SHOULD be working on today and that is a commission on the subject of Beale's Camel Corp. Proving I even get distracted from my distractions.

   Did I mention I'm ADD and OCD. Yes, everything has to be perfect. Just not for very long.

   But, back to the drawing board.

Daily Whip Out In Progress 3.5

   Some decent effects and it helps to have good reference. Note my toothless skull, which has seen better days, but it helps here (and it shows up in tons of my work). The trick now is not to go too far and ruin it. Have about an hour in this (off and on). Going to let it dry and look at it in the morning. Final scan tomorrow (or, it will join the growing discard pile and you'll perhaps see it from the roof of the garage).

"In painting, it's not what you are looking at, it's what you are looking for"

—David Brody, in the last of 36 lectures on "How To Draw"