Happy New Year

We probably can all agree that change is the only constant in life, the only thing we can be sure will happen. In addition to external change, life isn’t as much a matter of being who we are than it is about becoming who we are.

If everything is always changing, then shouldn't we be less presumptuous about what we think we know, and have a lesser sense of entitlement? This includes accepting that the people in our lives are not the same people they used to be many years ago.  

For artists this may mean that when we find solutions to problems, we should expect that those solutions may not solve a creative problem later on.  Some artists figure out what works for them and repeat it over and over to the point that it may no longer be relevant or satisfactory to their surroundings. 

Would artists take more creative risks and try new things if they accepted that their past failures were not a guarantee of more of the same? Conversely, an artist's past accomplishments is not a promise that everything they touch will turn to gold.

Clinging has never worked, whether to old ways of doing things, old technology or old practices. Our desire for things to remain the same is unrealistic. 

I hope that we all start this new year accepting that our uneasy relationship with change and what is unknown should be nurtured. I'm hoping that we all find a way to become who we are becoming within the constant changes, and more practically, to solve current problems now without getting hung up on the past.

My vision for my watercolours is always outpacing my abilities. This is because my vision today is greater than my vision from last year. This is in part the result of classes I take, seeing what other artists produce and the students that push me to be "more".  My updated vision challenges me and demands that I learn new things.  I love how my vision moves ahead, just our of reach. The alternative is decay and stagnation.

To start off this new year, I do not have a new completed painting but two paintings that I'm working on.

In the next few days, I will complete this painting from a scene in Paris.  I think that almost everyone who has visited Paris has taken a photo from this street.  As much as some people like the Eifel Tower,  I adore the architecture of the city.  

And if you wonder if my painting of this Paris scene is part of my new vision, well not really. Maybe I painted this because I miss travelling.

This next painting is in preparation for my upcoming class on "Colourful fabrics".  I'm pleased that the class with the Kanata Art Club is almost full.  Trying to resolve the warm vs cool colours in this painting is a fun challenge as I am making up most of the patterns that you see. 

I hope that for the new year that you produce all that you dreamed of and that you embrace change and have meaningful encounters to shape your future.

Happy New Year,

Danielle