 Subtle!
Painting inspired by adorable Bichon Frise. Title inspired by Malevich after last night’s online lecture on 20 century painting. But this IS white on white (on white). Rife with (fun) problems to solve.  Jacques-Louis David Le Général Bonaparte, 1798 The word perfection comes from the Latin perficere, meaning to complete, to finish, to bring to an end. Sure, the word has additional meanings before that mark and since but for the sake of this post, let's focus on that main definition. It follows, then, that imperfection merely means that which is not complete, unfinished. Isn't that the state of being human? Aren't we perfect only when we are finished with our earthly journey? Near the end of his life, Leonardo (as in da Vinci) went through his notebooks and wrote over and over again, "Tell me if anything was ever done". Yes, Leonardo struggled with perfectionism. So do many of my students. I've attracted many perfectionists to my drawing and watercolor workshops and courses over the years. As a recovering perfectionist, I recognize them and their suffering right away. I understand the syndrome and coax them (sometimes more successfully than others) through the process of letting one thing or another go. Even if students aren't outright perfectionists, there's a more subtle, related suffering. A constant nagging sense of displeasure or defeat (or both) when showing work they consider subpar. I understand that, too. Especially over this past year, when I've only had time, for the most part, to make mad dash demos under pressure of stupidly short amounts of time and (often) interruption, I then present whatever results as an example of my abilities. Actually, the results are rushed demonstrations of how to but still, my ego is crestfallen with the results and the what other people think nattering is super annoying. “Perfectionism is not self-improvement. Perfectionism is, at it’s core, about trying to earn approval. Most perfectionists grew up being praised for achievement and performance (grades, manners, rule following, people pleasing, appearance, sports). Somewhere along the way, they adopted this dangerous and debilitating belief system: “I am what what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it. Please. Perform. Perfect.” Even with my relatively private daily drawing blog, I am posting scribbles and drawings that would be better burned. In fact, they're all just teases. Warm ups (with, at this time in my life, nowhere to go for follow up). However, if I can get over myself, all of these (mostly) disappointments keep my muscles flexed, the practice intact and provide some sense of accomplishment. The carrots of disappointment and imperfection keep me in a race that, eventually, as soon as there's more time, will have me winning more often on a daily basis. Fortunately, the demos I'm creating for the online courses are mostly highly successful. So there's that. I'm not operating in abject failure. All of what I've just described is experience that cannot be conveyed to a novice or to someone unwilling to let go of prescribed structures. That may be the most difficult part of teaching beginners. The other difficult notion to convey to beginners is that we're all beginners, no matter how long we've been practicing and working away. There's a large degree of faith involved in the creative process. There are moments of inspiration and master pieces but the whole cloth unfolds over a longer period of time and experience and work that any one piece can adequately describe in terms of perfection. Faith kicks in when you come to understand that you cannot possibly know or control the end result or outcome of any process, let alone any creative process. Faith is a practice, too. “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.” Personally, I love unfinished paintings. Gilbert Stuart's Athenaeum Portrait of George Washington, David's Unfinished General Bonaparte, Freud's Self-Portrait, to name a few. I love seeing the process, the partial drawing against the partial paint against the naked canvas. This may be one reason why I cling to watercolor as my main medium, because the naked paper is always a presence if not clearly visible. Just one reason. Of course, drawing and painting are not always a matter of suffering. Not by a long shot. Many are completed quite nicely (if not perfectly). Come learn about magnificent imperfectionism. Work with me. "Perfectionism is internalized oppression." - Gloria Steinem  Strike, as in sudden success | Watercolor ©2011 Suzanne McDermott/All Rights Reserved The time is always right to do what's right. — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Doing equals action. Action is the stroke. All action takes time. Before action comes envisioning, clarity, intention, decision, commitment. Flow is the allowing, faith, patience. Nothing is absolute but boy, for the most part, everything seems to take longer than we think it will. (Except for what doesn't). For example, I intended to launch my new courses at the start of the year. It's going to take longer. Anyway, what I like about "the start of the year" is that there are so many. With the new moon tonight at 9:18 PM ET, I feel like I'm just getting started with the year. There's been so much scaffolding to create to hold up the rest of the year's plans. As far as this syndrome of things seeming to take longer than we expect them to, I'm holding to the wisdom that everything takes exactly as long as it needs to, that everything unfolds in perfect order and that now is always the right time. It's the only time. Yep. Now is the only time. May as well enjoy it, get into it and let go of the rest as well as you can. That's what I'm really working on. And... no matter how far behind I feel, I always remember to do the next right thing. Okay. So, you are welcome to a gratis copy of my Drawing Primer. Go here to get yourself a copy. Pass the link along to your family and compadres. Share the link. Share the love (and pencils and paper.) Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.  “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” ― Roald Dahl I was friendly with the master magician, Ricky Jay in my early 20's. Aside from the night he took me to The Magic Castle, my favorite memories are of random afternoons when Ricky would stop by and, standing in the back alley, toss playing cards across the 2-story building where I worked to particular targets he'd call along the boulevard on the other side. Those were early-ish days of a master practicing his craft and, while I had no desire to learn card tricks, it was a wonder to watch him practice. He was fully present and supremely aware. In a documentary about his life and his own master teachers, Ricky says: "The real key to learning is almost like the Sensei master relationship in the martial arts. The way you want to learn is by someone that you respect showing you something." I practice a different sort of magic and, though it is impossible to teach, I do my best. Teaching drawing and watercolor (and art history practicums!) involves watching people undergo processes of becoming aware. It's gratifying to hear people tell me that their minds are opening. The first step is always drawing because drawing helps you learn to see. It's the most challenging step, really, because to draw what you see requires you to bypass what you think you see; to bypass your thoughts. Challenging because, on average, we think about 70,000 thoughts per day. That works out to almost 49 thoughts a minute. Quite a distraction from focusing on any object in our environment long or well enough to really see it. When you start practicing seeing through drawing, you become more aware of the actual magical world that we live in. Becoming present and aware of the magical now is the first step of practicing magic. "Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see - to see correctly - and that means a good deal more than merely looking with the eye." ― Kimon Nicolaides Click here to add your name to the wait list
for early notification about my foundation course and art history practicums starting in January 2018 with special early bird value and bonus. Or start now with Enter Here.  Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is the result of good work habits. Practice, practice, practice.
Twyla Tharp composed a popular book on creativity, The Creative Habit. It's a wonderful book that I recommend at a certain point during my Foundation Course in Drawing and Watercolor and also to some creative coaching clients. One thing, though. From my experience, if creativity is a habit, it's formed by practice. You don't establish any habit right away. You have to practice creating a habit, let's say drawing and watercolor until you rewire your neural pathways so that what you're practicing becomes a habit. However, my experience is that with any creative practice, you are involved, to a large degree, in discovery. You have to be able to continually tweak what you're practicing, sometimes on a daily basis, in order to expand your abilities and understanding. In other words, if you establish a particular way (habit) of doing a drawing or watercolor and then discover that you have to change that particular way in order to grow as an artist, you have to un-learn certain habits. As a different sort of example, let's say you've learned a Mozart piano sonata so thoroughly that it's ingrained in your neural pathways and muscle memory and you can play it "by heart". Then you discover that some of the ornamentation and a couple of notes you've learned are wrong and you have to un-learn and re-learn those parts. That's difficult and requires more practice to change what's become habitual. Actually, I think that habits in creative work mostly consist of establishing the habit of sitting down to practice. Also, sometimes, establishing parameters like, I will sit down at 4 PM for 30 minutes to practice drawing. So, I don't think that creativity is a habit but the habit of practicing creative work is crucial to creativity. Seth Godin has been blogging daily for... gosh, I don't know how many years now. His posts are usually short and sweet but highly inspirational and effective. He committed to the habit of writing daily posts and continues to practice daily (for all of our benefit). Anyone who meditates daily knows that there is the habit of sitting down to meditate and then the practice of actual meditation which can be (and usually is) wildly different during every sitting. Setting parameters helps with establishing habits that you can practice within. Particular methods designed to lead you step by step through progressive exercises are also extremely helpful. Commitment is vital. Finally, there's nothing like accountability to keep you honest and on track as you establish your habit of practice. Practice rules. Habit helps.  Ah... The industrious, productive Bee. Bringer of good luck and prosperity. Not a bad subject to re-launch my daily practice blog. It'll take a bit to re-establish the habit and till then, it's practice. Practice does not make perfect but it can establish a habit which, if it's a healthy one, can lead to all sorts of good things. My 2016 daily practice was eclipsed by a big illustration project. This year has been all about creating three new art history practicum courses to follow on my foundation course in drawing and watercolor. All personal drawing and watercolor this year has gone to rapid demos in live class and longer demos for the online course. I’ve been chomping at the bit to just sit down to draw and watercolor and post for … relief! (At the very least.) I'm still honing the online art history practicum course to make the best offering possible for early 2018 but am far enough along to putting my personal daily practice in gear again. This bee has been sitting in a saucer next to my drafting table for at least two months. I'm happy, at long last, to immortalize him (or to make him temporarily slightly famous) as he helps me prepare for two new courses online in the new year. Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day, for no matter how little it is, it will be well worth while, and it will do you a world of good. —Cennino Cennini Bee positive. Pick up a pen or a pencil and draw something. Anything. Just for fun. Or for a meditation. Drawing is one of the surest ways to help you bee here now. (You know I can't help myself.)
 The Wicked Witch of the West meets The Omen "The idea of dying and coming back is what makes the Halloween films work.""The idea of dying and coming back is what makes the Halloween films work."--Donald Pleasence TrickWhat can I say? I must be a grade school stand up at heart. Here are some seasonal riddles for your mild amusement. (More mild amusements, please, these days, thank you.) (Find your answers at the bottom of this post.) 1. Why did the skeleton stay home from the dance? 2. Why did the ghost go into the bar? 3. What do you call a witch's garage? 4. What type of dog does every vampire have? Treat
Answers1. He had no body to go with. 2. For the Boos. 3. A broom closet. 4, Bloodhound! Yuk. Yuk. Yuk. You're welcome! "If you're concerned about what's going on today, read history and figure out what to do because it's all right there."—Tom Hanks  Unearth what matters most to you. If you're an artist (or a "shadow artist"), and overwhelmed with life at large right now, I encourage you to think about doing something creative, hands on, mind engaged, right now. Join me online in January. Just put your name on the wait list. No obligato. Space is limited. As I compose the three new courses I am teaching and developing this year, I'm up to my neck in the history of painting, the lives of individual painters, their particular social and economic situations, patrons, culture, religion and serendipitous changes of fortunes; their contributions, output and influence. I've spent other years of my life doing much the same thing but rather focused on histories of music, song form and themes, architecture, cities, people, legends, and places and things I've forgotten for the moment. Looking at ourselves as a species, or even just a civilization, through the lens of being creators, is far more enlightening than our political and military histories. Although, that being said, it is exceptionally instructive how creators have interacted with politics and power down through the ages. As an artist, I resonate, of course, with the painters and poets and composers of music who have come and worked before me. And now that I'm old (though it doesn't really feel like it!), it's interesting to look back to see what I've done. Which brings me to my personal funny pages this morning. I was going to take this post in an entirely different direction when my dear, dear, long time, steadfast friend, Carole, forwarded me a blog post featuring napkin art I made in 1982 at the Seagull Bar in Mendocino when that particular block of, I guess it was Kasten Street, had been taken over by the production team for the filming of Stephen King's Cujo. Anyway, the Volunteer Fire Station (thank you) on Kasten Street was re-dressed for the film (I have photos in storage), and, at the time, I happened to sit down at the bar with a napkin and pen. I remember, distinctly, making this drawing and what fun it was. But I have not seen it in 35 years. If I had not been reminded with the image, I would have forgotten altogether the expression of this experience. The amazing surprise is that it's survived all these years and has featured as headline image in the original Seagull owner's current blog. What a great delight! My friend, Carole, recognized the "e" of (the first name only) of my signature and forwarded the image and blog post to me. This is the stuff of history. Personal history. The history of drawing and painting. This history of personal memories. Looking through the long lens or the personal scrapbook, we learn something ephemeral but vital. We are who we are. We learn by self examination. And, of course... The unexamined life is not worth living.—Socrates
This week, it's just a quick note.
With the start of the recent Basic Drawing class that I teach for the city of Raleigh, I've celebrated my 20th year anniversary of teaching drawing and watercolor. Had to share! Little did I know when I created those morning and afternoon drawing and watercolor workshops for guests at the Kiawah Island Resort in South Carolina that two decades later, I'd still be at it. In a big way. These week after week city classes have given me opportunities to serve while growing my method and developing new courses. I have to thank the city and all the students—not only the great successes but also those who've challenged me and made me a better teacher. I am so looking forward to bringing my teaching back online. And I must not forget to include thanks to my best drawing and painting teacher ever, Ronn Davis, and best art history teacher, Jim Urmston. Both at Santa Monica College where I studied so many moons ago when, as Jim put it a few years back, "all things seemed possible". Minus a few absentees, the above shots are a peek at my 20th anniversary classes. |
Inspiring you to heal yourself, shine your light
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