process + perfectionism

i want to share some shots and thoughts of a good art day.


it begins with coffee on the back porch (this is when the basset hound behind us is not barking) and 3 pages hand written of the morning pages a la julia cameron. I have her complete set: The Complete Artist's Way: Creativity as a Spiritual Practice, which looks like a bible and sort of is for artists!


i wanted to share this excerpt on perfectionism from julia that ties well to my earlier post about flow--she speaks about her artistic process in writitng:

To the critic, ease feels foreign--and suspicious. Work should be work, shouldn't it? Surely nothing can simply flow?
Damn the colloquial! Every thought, each sentence, must be carefully weighted. Nothing can begin without knowing the ending. There is no room for exploration, for ambiguity. The critic is a nervous man. The critic likes known routes.

The critic believes in product, not process. Do not try to simply rough something in. Forget sketching. That's not good enough. The critic does not like us to have the joy of creation. It is interested in fixing things, not in creating things. It insists there must always be something to fix.

Julia then moves on to talk about the two functions of the artist, the creative impulse and the critical one. She calls the critical one by the name Nigel, which is funny if you have an english friend named Nigel like I do!

Nigel in her mind is stereotypically:

...a gay man with impossibly high aesthetic standards. My work is never good enough for Nigel. He is always with a red pencil. According to Nigel, who has never been known to say anything nice, it is the critic's job to be critical.

I love the idea of naming and separating the critic from the creative process. Letting the creative process be a time where you can do no wrong. Make no mistakes. Be completely imperfect. Then later bring on in Nigel to edit when you're ready!

After I do my morning pages-- I bike on down to my on to my studio that's about 6 blocks away and start by seeking inspiration.



Then I do a bit of staring at my paintings from different angles and seeing what they need.


then turning up the music (feeling particularly fond of the weepies newest Be My Thrill lately, thanks to andrea's rec) and playing in paint!



xxxxoox
mati

all my emails are bouncing back

and it's nearing 10 pm and i'm still working... time to call it a day! soon my friends, i'll be back with more paintings.

here's a shot of outside my studio taken earlier with my iphone. i love it here.

our studio sale...

was a great success! thanks everyone who stopped by & to those who wished us well from afar!

i'm exhausted now and catching up on everything else...

here are some shots (that don't have the best light, but you get the gist!).

my wall of birds!
my kid friendly wall!

hugh's silhouette work & silkscreens!

hugh's pink paintings & our collabs below!

Cheers,
Mati

summer sale!

hi friends,

i'm having an in person studio sale this sunday, july 11th from 12-5pm!

Compound 21

2498 A Harrison Street (cross street 21st)

San Francisco, CA 94110

and an on-line sale too! all of my prints are $25 (regularly $35) and sets of prints are $60 and originals are greatly discounted too!

as i'm gearing up for sunday i'm working on completing larger paintings and will hopefully show you their progress the next few as part of my painting a day.

i added a new painting to my etsy shop today that returned from the patagonia show! it measures 10x10 painted with acrylic and collage and is on sale here!

be well,

mati

doily dreams

detail of one of my fave doily paintings

as many of my past students & studio mates can attest, i LOVE spray painting doilies & lace! i remember the summer i discovered the technique through experimenting a few years ago and could not stop spray painting through doilies (i bought a garbage bag full of them at the thrift store!) and other found objects... like a pretty patterned rubber place mat and weird vent thing that had a petaled pattern! once you start looking for inspiration in this department it's everywhere!

here are some more explorations (the 2 on the right are already sold):

silver doily love, measures 4x4 inches on canvas (above)
available HERE

tangerine & the ocean measures 4x4 on canvas
available HERE

i think what i love most about this process is they layering and mystery involved in the outcome!

xoxo
mati

beginning paintings

i start painting the backgrounds in a mad whirl of color and energy with no idea where it's all going. i cover my immediate area with inspiration; even my own to remind me of past mark making, color and imagery. does anyone else do that?


i've been painting so much lately for specific purposes-- themed shows & illustrations-- that these paintings are just for me to get back to what i love. i have 2 shows already lined up for september, so while i need to get working towards them i also want to experiment and feel back to the basics of gushy paint love that make me feel alive.

i'll keep you posted on their progress.

xoxoox

hello summer why are you so grey today?

fortunately you are warm and bright in my studio!

here's my new postcard:



and a new big click magnet made by ipop and available in my shoppe:



these magnets are great to put on magnetic inspiration boards in my studio:



see a bit bigger here.

happy weekend!
mati

*Studio Makeover*

Kelly came down to SF this weekend and in record time turned my studio from drab to fab! Thank you sweets! I'm having so. much. fun. creating now! View the whole set here.
xoxoxoxox

studio time

it's a rainy day, but cozy inside with tea, paint and chocolate...

Studio Love

I'm excited to be included in Cloth, Paper, Scissor's Studio issue (Fall/Winter 2008) along side some incredible spaces... makes me want to revamp mine!
What they didn't capture is the rest of my revolving inspiration wall (more here from over the years) or amazing studio mates and sweet pups.