Painting Upside-Down

                         

Sabina Wohlfeiler writes....

I still love watercolors.  The luminosity, the transparency, the immediacy, and the magical mixing of water, pigment, and artist intention will forever please me.  But I very much dislike matting and framing and transporting my finished watercolors.  In spite of great care and cushioning, my last two shows had shattered glass episodes.  "Enough!" I said.

It was time to overcome my biases against acrylic painting and learn how to use the medium with success and satisfaction.  I enrolled in a beginning painting class at PSU with Brendan Clenaghen http://www.pulliamgallery.com/Artist-Detail.cfm?ArtistsID=176. 

Yes, I've been painting for over 20 years, but I'm a raw beginner with acrylics.  Most of the others in the class were decades younger, but they had far more experience with acrylics.  I loved being around their youthful energy and readily accepted their generously offered suggestions, as I struggled to get a handle on the paint properties.  Brendan provided the perfect mix of structure, breathing room, encouragement and humor.  I was so sorry to see the class come to an end, after 10 rewarding weeks (60 hours of class time).

BUT….. I have six new paintings which satisfy me and show a steady progress toward my goal.  In fact, I surprised myself with several artistic breakthroughs, the most dramatic of which was enjoying painting upside down!  I turned my reference photo upside down and thus tricked my brain into seeing JUST SHAPES.   The images flowed from my brush with relative ease, making for a much more pleasurable painting experience.  And during the process there was a shift, when I actually became an instrument of the image, allowing me to facilitate, more than direct, its appearance on the canvas!  I think that's referred to as being in a state of "flow". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29

All of the paintings were impressions of people I saw on a recent trip to Cuba.  The University of Wisconsin Alumni Association sent me an e-mail, advertising a government sanctioned, ARTS-focused trip, an offer I could not refuse. http://www.uwalumni.com/voice_march12_cuba.aspx.   This was perhaps the most interesting and informative of my recent travels.  The most lasting impression I had was of the lovely spirit and energy of the Cuban people (and their incredible music!), which thrives in spite of dire economic conditions, crumbling buildings, the collapse of Russia, and the continuation of our damaging embargo.

The painting here is of a pair of Cuban boys caught in a sunny-day's rainstorm.  I intend to show these paintings, and others, at ORA's upcoming Celebration of Art in October.