Colors change as the day goes on. Katie, taking my order at Jake's, raises the richness of my palette. For others, Katie lightens their step. I talk about Jake's Bagel Shop a lot when I am trying to explain my painting methods.
Most people have their "Jake's" to start the day - a place, a person, a cup of coffee in a special cup. Little things that set a persons day. Little things set the tone of the colors on my palette for the day. The ladies at Jakes help me keep the tone of my colors high and very bright. I've talked about this in several of my blogs. I wonder what affected Rembrandt's painting? Was it an inquisitive man who brought him the coal or wood he used to heat his studio? Was it the sassy girl who said he smelled of onions, making him laugh? No matter what one does in life, what they do is effected by all the little things that happen during their day.
One of my joys is studying the art of another artist. Trying to figure out why, what, and how they created their art. I let paintings speak to me. It took me a while to learn how to listen to a painting. Sometimes there are two stories in a painting; one, the story the artist intended the viewer to hear, and then there is another that the artist can hear. A lot of times that first story is blurred by the second story. Sales down, pressure from bill collectors or not being able to spend more time with the kids can darken a painting and make the hand less confident. I call it a story when I see an artists work that is not up to par, or better than anything he's ever done.
This is all in my head you understand, it is part of how I keep my own artwork on a high level. I study my own artwork for signs of where my head was, and needed to be, when painting the one I study. Getting a painting back from the gallery with a scratch on the $1200 frame means I pull back from painting so I can get fully back in a good place. I never find art boring.
