polishing up

watercolor on bristol
4.5" x 7.5"

lately i've been all caught up on subject matter.  i go on and on in my head with the question: what in the world should i paint?  sometimes the idea comes like a beacon in the night, and sometimes i'll stare at the blank canvas for what seems like an eternity.

back in college i had a critique from professional artist sheila klein.  for a final project i painted an oil portrait of my then-boyfriend's dog, champ.  she said "it's clear you know how to paint.  now paint something interesting."  i was crushed.  now that sheila & i are friends, i haven't had the gumption to tell her how that critique affected me.  but ironically, since then, i can trace all my good fortune as a professional artist to a pet portrait i did for client, friend, and art-aficionado paige powell.  it's funny how everything in life seems to come full circle.

today i grabbed the first thing in my environment that caught my eye.  maybe it's the old-fashioned logo, the red-white-and-blue that screams "americana!", but this seems like an inadvertent homage to both wayne thiebaud & andy warhol.  i've had the good fortune to see quite a bit of warhol's work and hear stories about him through paige, who worked closely with him at interview magazine.   through this exposure, i've realized his influence in my work