“I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.”

What do you do when you have one lame arm and too much energy to watch one more movie of the week as you are driven to the brink of your sanity by the fact the you haven't been able to do anything active in over 4 months? Paint.


Yesterday I embarked on painting a collaborative painting for the first time ever. I picked up a 30" x 40" canvas, a pallete, and some brushes. I have never been to excited about the whole art scene in general, other then the gallons of free wine associated with Second Saturdays in Sacramento.
There are a couple of things I noticed right away as I dove into the world of the artistic;

1. The employees at the art supply store know I am not overly serious about art just by looking at me, and thus hate me.
   
2. A rounded pallete, even though it consists of far less actual material, is obviously far superior to a rectangular one and thus should be at least twice the cost.

One thing I can say about walking around an art store pissing everyone off with your existence, is that you at no point feel the need to fear for your safety. It isn't the same as if a person walked into a local dive bar wearing capri pants and Prada glasses, wherein every man there might stab him at any moment. No. It is more equated to a bear walking through a stream while all of the salmon mumble discourtesies to one another under their breath.
I'm sure they feel that I like many members of the uncultured, gainfully employed public, just cannot possible grasp the intricacies involved in their creations. I'm not even sure if I understand what an "Artist" is. Do you think that Da Vinci or Michelangelo would have called themselves artists? Or would they use another term like designer, painter, or inventor? I have to think it would be the latter. To me "Artists" are those drop outs who sit around coffee shops all day listening to Fish and peeing in jars (calling it art). Those are artists.
In this case I myself would say that I am a painter, no Bob Ross mind you, but I'm on my way. The above picture is layer 1. Once it dries we will add more and see where it goes from there. I don't really have some sort of overall vision for the piece as mostly I am just learning how to get the paint off of my pallete and onto the canvas. See if you can figure out which half of this painting is mine.