MARY FARMER
These are the two questions I answer as I begin each work : what do I want to say or paint and how am I going to get there ? Thus begins my studio day .
What ( What ?) am I thinking about ? Is it pink tones of a beach sunset , dappled light in a forest , or fleshy light reflected from a firm rump ? How will I express these thoughts in a well-executed piece of art ?
Will I struggle ? Will I engage in battle with the piece ? Is it a fight to the death ? Probably not , since as painters we are the luckiest of humans to get to paint and make art . How cool is that ? It ’ s my job to paint . Each day I wrap my head around “ Art is my job ” as a guiding principle .
Then the process kicks in . Just how do I make art ? Simply put , I am dedicated to my studio practice and embrace each step of my art making process . It all begins with solitude . It is my belief that arranging the mental space and accepting that I absolutely need time to think about my work is a major force in my creative process . Without it , I flounder and flop about .
When given proper time to think , ponder , question and debate , I tread a much smoother path to the How ?
Beginning , facing that bare panel or that white surface , can be the most daunting of tasks ( it ’ s almost as difficult as “ Is the piece finished ?”). As I begin , I shed any notion of where this will end , else I get tangled up in silly bits . This is discovery and I become willing to take the journey and find the outcome . I do not preordain the outcome .
As I work new questions always pop up and sometimes , those queries require me to back up a few paces to consider what is being asked of me . For example : am I happy with the depth , do I need more going on between the layers , will a glaze work here and how ’ s the surface holding ?