artistic process

SIX HANDS AND THE ART OF FOLLOWING YOUR BRUSH

 

When I paint
I put a blob of raw umber on my palette
and start drawing on the canvas.
I don’t stop to think about what I’m doing
I go wherever my paintbrush takes me.
Often it leads me into difficult territory..
Not away from it.
Hands are hard,
yet the creature that ended up on my canvas
has six of them.
So I struggle.
I fight.
I am committed to the end.
Dedicated to the direction of my gift
and the heart that guides me..
I will never give up.
Don’t avoid the hard stuff.
That’s how you grow.

Excerpt from Painting, Passion and the Art of Life by Michele Bledsoe

PENCIL DRAWINGS AND THE ART OF PERSONAL MAIL (PART 2)

 

Another piece of illustrated personal mail

I sent to Richard while we were dating.

It has been a long time

since I’ve seen these drawings..

I was pleasantly surprised

to find my dog’s missing leg

under the sea

with the fish sticks

and goldfish crackers.

 

ATROPHY, PAINTING AND THE ART OF BEING UNLEASHED

I didn’t paint much

while I was working on my book.

But now..

I am unleashed.

I painted and painted

and painted.

 

That night..

my hand hurt like crazy.

Muscles aching from disuse;

I smiled to myself

in the dark.

 

All I could think about

was more painting.

 

 

 

 

Enthusiasm and the Art of Losing Your Mind

Work in progress, by Michele Bledsoe

 

It is rare when I introduce something new

to my beloved palette of colors…

That is an understatement.

 

But when I returned to my easel

after finally finishing my new book..

it appears that I have wondrously

and joyfully

lost my mind.

 

Without hesitation

I started gathering strange tubes of paint

one after another..

 

And as I fearlessly applied these alien pigments

to my work in progress,

I understood the true meaning of enthusiasm:

To be possessed by God.

 

Cerulean Blue, Sap Green, Yellow Oxide… I had to write them down so I wouldn’t forget.

Deconstructed Forests and the Art of Obsession

   Paintings by Michele Bledsoe

 

I am obsessed with trees..

and pieces of trees.

Planks and chunks

of carved wood,

branches and leaves

I paint them all the time..

cultivating my weird

deconstructed forest

on canvas.

 

 

Golden Raisins and the Art of Natural Beauty

Instead of our regular raisins,

my husband and I picked up some golden raisins

during our weekly trip to the grocery store.

 

When we opened the box

it almost took my breath away.

We marveled at the rich colors –

an assortment of gold, deep yellow and amber

tumbling like leathery gems

into our open hands.

 

Since we are both painters..

we tried to identify the colors we saw

in terms of paint:

Yellow Oxide?

Turner’s yellow….?

Burnt sienna??

 

As artists, we can only attempt to reproduce

these beautiful objects with brush and pigment –

We might even come close..

but they would taste awful.

 

 

42 Dogs and the Art of Repetition

42 Dogs by Michele Bledsoe

 

There are books on my shelf that I have read dozens of times..

maybe hundreds.

I could say the same for certain movies.

Experiencing such a deep passion for something

will do that to you.

Maybe it’s just me.

 

The painting you see is called 42 dogs.

I wasn’t trying to be cryptic

or intentionally weird..

the title is actually quite literal.

While painting it, I listened to Pink Floyd’s “Dogs”

42 times in a row.