Monday, November 5, 2007

Short but sweet


Yesterday I had a few hours to spare, so I nipped down to the studio and put together the piece above. It's made up of paper scraps left over from an earlier bigger painting, but in this small size (16 inches square) with smaller bits, it has a different sensibility from the other one. More intricate, more intimate.

I like the way this work looks; it brightened my bedroom considerably when I hung it on the wall across from the bed so I could lie down and look at it. I'm slowly moving away from the idea that my paintings have to be stunning, or that my work has to be earth-shatteringly brilliant to mean anything. This piece is simple and pretty, and that's enough.

Does this mean I'm mellowing with age? I'm certainly not any less convinced of the things I believe in. I'm just not interested in impressing other people any more, or hammering them over the head about things. It's enough to just create the work and present it. If it pleases others, fine. If not, fine. Yep, sounds like I'm getting older.

2 comments:

wendy soneson said...

I agree with your philosophy. And the work is beautiful, pretty is not strong enough. Most of your work to me is positive and uplifting, and that is a relief since so much art is about negative things these days.

Catherine Carter said...

Thank you for your kind feedback, Wendy! I feel like these are celebratory colors, and I want to make art about what I perceive as the beautiful in this world.