Painting a painting

finished Pilot Mountain paintingOver the course of the last couple of weeks, I made a small painting using a photo I took during a hike on Pilot Mountain as reference. A few weeks ago during a particularly snowy patch, my family went on a day hike up and around one of our favorite spots: Pilot Mountain. This rocky hill that rises abruptly out of its surroundings (called a monadrock) is a place where we love to hike, picnic, and camp. It was historically used as a navigational landmark by the area’s first inhabitants.

They appropriately named the mountain “Jomeokee” or “great guide.” 

During our hike I was struck by the contrast between the stark lines of the trees against the softer shapes of rock, patches of snow, and sky. This is how the painting progressed.

Singerman Painting Process
The buildup of layers over the course of making a painting.

 

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Being an artist is more that what happens in the studio

“Being an artist is not just about what happens when you are in the studio. The way you live, the people you choose to love and the way you love them, the way you vote, the words that come out of your mouth, the size of the world you make for yourselves, your ability to influence the things you believe in, your obsessions, your failures — all of these components will also become the raw material for the art you make.”

-Teresita Fernández

Teresita Fernandez poses in her studio
Teresita Fernandez poses in her studio Sep. 18, 2005 in New York. Photo by Zack Seckler. Courtesy of MacArthur Foundation

Teresita Fernández is a sculptor and installation artist who explores the connection between nature and technology. She received the prestigious MacArthur fellowship in 2005, and gave the keynote speech at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts in 2013. In this inspiring speech she goes into what it means to be an artist and ends with ten practical tips for artists. To read more and to listen to the speech, visit Brain Pickings.

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