Art Therapy

Greetings to all,

As most of you know, I am trying to manage a brain disorder. (If you didn't know, I guess I am coming out of the closet!) Yesterday, I went to a KIFA (Kent Island Federation of Art) meeting. The members there were very nice, and it was a pleasant time.

I knew that there would be a demo at the KIFA meeting. What I didn't know was that we could participate by painting a vase of flowers on this wild, Yupo paper with watercolors. As I followed some preliminary instructions, I dabbed my brush into the juicy watercolor, and started to paint. Within a few minutes, it seemed like art therapy I had in a few of my hospitalizations. I giggled to myself as I played with abandon.

Distraction and keeping busy are powerful tools when managing a brain disorder. By distracting myself, and keeping busy, I am able to push the uncomfortable symptoms to the background, often forgetting about how bad I feel for a while. Movies are also great distractions. With the big screen, it is almost guaranteed that you will have a few hours of peace.

While my art effort at the meeting will not win any awards, I saved it as a reminder of the power of distraction and play in coping with bipolar disorder. Whenever I feel unable to cope, I need to find some busy play, to distract myself. While this cognitive therapy is not always easy, it is effective.

I also learned that my current artist block is penetrable. All I need to do is play, experiment, and have some fun, as well as be patient - for this too, shall pass.

Artfully yours,

Cathy Harville

PS - The attached jpeg is "Cooling Off", 8"X10" pastel by yours truly. (I didn't wan't to post the yupo flower picture just yet - the vase is a little cockeyed, and needs a bit of attention.)

Back to Pastels

My muse has been prodding me to start painting in pastels again. So I listened. (I have posted a new pastel painting for your viewing pleasure.) "Topsail Sunset II" reminds me why I love that little island, and why I love to paint.

The economy has not slowed down the making of art among artists. I find this time valuable to build a body of work, as I explore other avenues for my work. In October, I am going to exhibit a body of work called "At Water's Edge". The coastal areas are a favorite theme of mine. I just love how the land and water interact, and how the environment changes the lighting and atmosphere.

I am still struggling with a block. This is the first time I have been blocked in two years. Last time it happened, I ended up in the psychiatric hospital with a severe bipolar episode. The block may have been caused by the mood swing. In this current block, my mood is once again unstable. So I am working on my coping skills, and doing mickey mouse work to stay busy.

I have joined another art league, and have booked a restaurant and coffee shop to show my work in 2011. As I venture out to new venues, I find my muse is pleased, and the dreaded block is occasionally lifting. I just have to wait it out. There is no other way around it!

Artfully yours,

Cathy Harville

Sunset Grasses

Attached is a wild waterscape that I completed recently, titled "Returning". The sun was setting as we returned from a day on the water. The grasses captured the colors of the setting sun, creating a display of color that just amazed me. The painting has a second name, "Grass Sunset".

To paint the tall grasses, I used a plastic pizza cutter. I just rolled the pizza cutter in a pan of paint, so it was coated all the way around. The results were very gratifying!

I often paint with odd things - my fingers, paper towels, and more traditionally, palette knives. Yes, I do use brushes, but I love to paint with my fingers. Clouds are especially easy to paint with my digits!

Sometimes a painting will paint itself - others are like hard labor. The ease of completing a painting really depends on two things - how well I "know" the subject, and how large the painting is. I seem to get stuck on larger paintings, probably because there are more problems to work out. Smaller paintings have less detail, and seem to go more smoothly.

I am working to get my completion rate up from about 30% to nearer to 70%. I think I need to put more thought into the process, and allow my brain to solve problems while I sleep. It always seems to help when I approach a half finished painting after a good night's sleep.

Then, there are gems like "Returning". With the goal clear in my mind, and the pizza cutter trick, this painting almost painted itself! Such gems are rare, and much appreciated.

Artfully yours,

Cathy Harville

www.harvilleart.com

Finishing

Yesterday, I talked about discipline. Today, I want to talk about finishing paintings.

It may seem odd to the general public that many paintings go unfinished. A well-known artist I know has about a 20% non-finishing percentage, which means that one in every five paintings he attempts is never completed. My percentage of is quite a bit higher.

Recently, I have learned that I can probably lower that percentage if I completely commit to a painting. The fact is, that I do not finish some paintings because I hit a "block". I am now learning to paint through blocks, and keep pushing forward. Then, as I am learning, the painting will come together.

I have started a new series called "work in progress". As I work on the paintings I have started, which is all two of them, I take photos to show my progress. The in progress photos won't be revealed until I am certain that I am going to finish the piece. Maybe that is cheating, but I like it it is avoiding unneccesary postings.

Maybe that is not such a good idea. Seeing a painting blocked in is not awe-inspiring. I want the viewer to be more involved with my work, and just thought this is a novel idea. My first posting on Facebook did draw any comments, so perhaps my audience is not interested in such a thing.

But taking pictures as I work is providing a push to finish what I have started. And that is a very good thing!

Artfully yours,

Cathy Harville

Exposure

As an emerging artist, I feel a bit like a butterfly that can't quite get her wings to open. I know people like my artwork, because I sell quite a bit of it, and I have never had anything returned, which seems like a miracle to me. However, people can only buy what they see, and to see something, they have to be at a certain place and at a given time. Like real estate, it is all about location, location, location.

To gain a better location, and more exposure, I moved my studio to a better location at the Mill. I do a lot of inexpensive marketing - cards, brochures, signs for shows at my studio, even refrigerator magnets and bookmarks (which at a big hit!). I recently placed some prints in a local frame shop, and have already seen some action. Sales pros say it takes 5-7 "impressions" for people to buy. I think it varies greatly. I have had people literally rip things off the wall to purchase, while others come back several times before they pull the trigger.

Still, it is a big world, with lots of places to spend money, and thousands of artists vying for a piece of the pie. I think exposure is critical to success - shows, open studios, parties, art leagues, charity events,"pity paintings" - the list of exposure opportunities is endless. And while moving paintings all over the place to gain exposure is, at times, a nuisance, eventually, people will know who you are.

While I don't intentionally use gimmicks, I have inadvertently used them. I dyed my graying hair red, with blonde highlights, and subsequently, people remember me, especially if it comes out a bit magenta! I use lots of texture when I paint, and intense color. I am locally known for my unusual color choices (which don't seem so unusual to me). If I produce a work that is not wild with color, people are concerned. (I have been asked if I was depressed when I painted a painting in "normal" colors! I attached the painting, which is pretty tame, compared to what I normally do.)

The biggest barriers to exposure that I face, is not having gallery representation (which I admittedly, I have not sought out), and that I cannot keep my studio open every weekend and holidays for visitors to the Mill. Having said that, my short hours keep me sane, and not having to "produce" for a gallery frees me up to really experiment and have fun.

I like exposure in small doses. And I am very patient. I know someday, my wings will open, and I will take flight. It is only a matter of time.
Artfully yours,

Cathy Harville

www.harvilleart.com

Fixing Things

I am a very messy painter. Almost every piece of clothing I own has paint on it. My studio looks like it blew up. Even my "office" area is strewn with papers and handwritten notes.

Chaos leads to mistakes - and accidents. While preparing the ground for one piece, I get the gesso on another piece. Paint flies, drips, and smears. All of this leads to all kinds of chalenges - and adventures in fixing mistakes.

The worst "mistake" I ever had was when I had run out of horizontal space to put a painting covered in acrylic gel to dry. So, I sat it on the rug on the floor. I went out to the restroom, came back, and stepped right in the wet goo! Not only did I step in it, I slid several feet, so prussian blue was everywhere. I spent the next hour cleaning off paint off the floor, and my shoe. I gave up on my clothes and the floor!

Determined to save the art, I pushed the wet gel back into place, added some more, and giggled the whole time. It really was a mess, and it is such a shame no one else got to see the event! After several more "surgeries", I completed the piece, called "Layers of Sunlight". It was the first piece I got accepted into a show at the Art League in Alexandria!! The jurors were quite baffled as to how I created the piece. I told them everything, even the accident part, and they got a good laugh.

If it wasn't for mistakes, my growth would have stopped sometime as a toddler. Mistakes are learning moments, rich with "I will never do that again", or "this looks better than what I planned"! Not many people understand the chaos that surrounds my creative space - except for other artists, of course!

Artfully yours,

Cathy Harville

Artists' Block

Like every artist, I have experienced painter's block. I seldom have any problem with subject matter, and reference material. In my leisure time, I take lots of reference photos, and sometimes get to paint on site.

Since my blocks usually happen before I put the brush to the canvas, I simply put the brush to the canvas. Then it gets easy - until I hit a point where the composition isn't working, or the paint is so thick, that covering it creates confusion. The decision to abort is easy, as acrylics can be covered with a luscious layer of gesso. Sometimes it takes three or more attempts to nail it. Sometimes, I just can't nail it, and i move on. And maybe someday, I will go back to the blasted thing I just can't seem to paint, with more tools in my box.

Inherent in blocks is little voice of failure, looming in the background. I don't listen to those negative little voices. The voice that wants to have fun, experiment, and play is the only voice I listen to while painting.

I recently experimented with some new layering techniques, using gels and mediums, and gluing acrylic pieces to the canvas. Everything was going great - until I stepped in the wet creation. Instead of crying over spilled milk, I used it as a learning experience, and ended up fixing it. While I was reviving the gooey mess, I did another piece, and made sure I didn't set it on the floor! And it turned out pretty cool! I have plans for two more pieces, using different backgrounds and techniques. I guess the moral of the story was that I could have given up with a shoe full of goo, or I could move on to create something even better.

And rest is important. Nothing good comes out when I am tired. I save those times for non-creative chores - or a good nap!

Artfully yours,

Cathy Harville