While visiting Gilberto's blog this morning I came upon Terry Miura's blog and his words really hit home with me. I copied and pasted his post below for you to read but I hope you will visit his blog and see for yourself. Terry Miura
"Call it a rut. A slump. We've all been there, over and over again. Nothing seems to work and you feel like you just forgot how to paint altogether. How do you get out of it, and get back on track? Seek inspiration by looking at other artists work, watching movies, listening to music, taking a long walk... we have many different methods of getting unstuck.
When I get stuck, often it's because I'm over-thinking what I'm supposed to be doing: technically, stylistically, psychologically, career-wise. Too much junk to work into a single painting, and I forget about what's important at that moment; the painting itself. When I recognize it, I just stop what I'm doing, and go back to my comfort zone, something I've done before successfully and with full control. Something I understand how to do. No, not for the purpose of rehashing something I can easily sell, but to find myself in a place where I feel back in control.
In figure painting, that means simple palette systems and a clear figure-ground composition, nothing tricky or overly ambitious. I just want to get my chops going again without worrying about style, or complex color combinations, or whether this fits in with the rest of my oeuvre. I think of them as going back to simple exercises, and these Zorn palette things are just the right ticket for me. Only three colors plus white, I can just focus on one thing at a time and soon (hopefully), I'm back in the zone. Or not. Some ruts are deeper than others, but eventually we get unstuck. It's just easier on the psyche to have a comfort zone at these times, somewhere you can go back to, to find yourself in control.
All these are done in the Zorn Palette. Not because I'm in a rut, but because I assigned it to my class as homework. After seeing everyone's efforts, I think it was clear that this was a good place to return to, should we get lost with more complex palettes and are left feeling like we don't know what the hell we're doing. Simplify the problem, as I always say, and you simplify the solution.
Ruts are a normal part of our artistic growth and as painful as they are, we can be sure that they're temporary. Don't despair, and go back to what you know. When you feel back in control, the path will present itself." Terry Miura Artist Blog
