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HIGHMARSH BRIDGE 1980

© Sharon L Hicks, 2011

Coloured Pencil,   7" x 10"

I'm at it again !  ...   reworking paintings I previously thought were 'completed'.  As I explained in a previous blog, after I look at a finished work for awhile, be it a number of days, weeks, months, or years,  I often see parts of it which now don't quite 'sit right' with my eyes  ...  so the logical next step is to fix them.   

This piece was originally done in 2011, but I've recently spent some time reworking it, sparking up the colours and giving it a little more depth and 'pizazz'.  The painting shows a view of the old covered bridge on the Highmarsh Rd, as it looked back in 1980.  Built in 1916 and still in use today, it crosses the Tantramar Marsh near Sackville NB,  from Middle Sackville to Jolicure, where it joins the highway which leads to PEI.   The bridge has since been renovated, but this view is the one which people of my generation will remember, when there were still hay barns to be seen when looking through the bridge. 

That's what's been occupying my mind this last little while, sort of 'catching up' with the past, you might say.  Interestingly, since moving back to my  hometown a year ago, I've been doing the same thing with old acquaintances  -  catching up with how everyone's lives have turned out.  Perhaps this reworking of paintings is all part of the same process, or perhaps it's just a restless creative mind seeking the unattainable 'perfect' painting.   Whatever the reason, that's where I am right now, so I'm just going with the flow.  I've learned over the years to follow my instincts on matters like this  -  it usually works out for the best in the long run. 

The concept of Zen involves 'living in the moment', so I guess that's what I'm doing with my artwork for now   ...  doing whatever 'feels right', right now.   Zen painting.  :)

LORD OF THE FIELD

© Sharon L Hicks, 2009

Coloured Pencil

6" x 10"

This painting was a composite of several different photos I took of a herd of cattle out on the Tantramar marsh, and the most interesting point I noticed was that all of the calves in the field had the same muzzle colouration as their pappy.  Here the Lord and one of his Ladies stand watch over a group of his progeny, one big happy family.

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I am my own worst critic.

Even when a completed painting has passed all the rigorous "what-else-about-it-bothers-me-and-needs-fixing" analysis I go through when working on an image, and it is deemed "completed",  I still keep looking for more little 'flaws' in the finished work.  I'm never quite entirely satisfied with the way a painting turns out.  There's always something I'd do differently 'next time'. 

While I understand this is part of the growth process of being an artist, sometimes I actually will take an earlier piece and do a little more work on it, sometimes several years later.  I guess I just see my work as constantly evolving, and I don't like the idea of having pieces 'out there' which represents less than 'the best I can do' at the current time.  Personal pride?  Maybe.  Obsessive?  Maybe.

But it's more than that.  When I look at a painting which does not quite 'measure up', it actually hurts my eyes.  I just have to 'fix it' so I can view it in comfort.  I'm sure the majority of art viewers don't see the little flaws which are glaringly obvious to me, but that is not the point.  It has to be correct for my eyes first. 

This painting was originally done in 2009, but after three years of looking at it I decided it needed a little more work.  The colours weren't as lively or as intense as I wanted, the distance perspective needed a little more tweaking, little things like that.   And so back to the drawing board it went, and I'm far happier now with the results.  When I look at it, I feel a sense of calm, which tells me that all is well.  It's ready for me to let it go out into the world. 

I am, after all,  just a 'crazy artist'.  :)

LAUNDRY DAY IN NEGATIVE

© April 2012, by artist Sharon L Hicks

CP   8" x 6"

This is a fun little piece, where colours and values are flipped "inside-out", so to speak.  The surreal appearance has an eerie beauty all its own.   It was a stimulating project to work on, pushing the boundaries of how we see and interpret colours and values.  The left side of the brain can take a break, leaving the right side of the brain to play away with no annoying interruptions of counter-productive left-brain logic. 

This month I've entered another painting in the ongoing Bold Brush Art Competition.  SKELETONS OF YESTERYEAR is a Coloured Pencil painting representing a few of the old hay barns as they appeared on the Tantramar Marsh around 1980.  They were already in decline by then, and now they are nearly all gone.  The barns shown in the painting no longer exist, and it's difficult to even find where they used to sit.  Nature is very efficient at obliterating traces of human intervention. 

This is not a 'new' painting, having been completed a few years ago, but I feel it sends a strong message about the effects of progress on the ways of the past.  Hopefully this image might help some to remember the 'good old days'. 

You can view this painting, and many other great works by artists from all over, at the Bold Brush website  -  http://faso.com/boldbrush/   

If you want to go directly to my painting on the site, the url is   -   http://faso.com/boldbrush/painting/31844  .   Note that on the website it says it's an Oil, not sure how that happened  ...  it's really Coloured Pencil. 

Feel free to 'vote' for any paintings you really like, by clicking on the 'like' button after you click on the image to enlarge it. 

As always, I appreciate any support and interest in my work.  Painting is my passion, and it's always nice to know when it has touched someone in some way.