So, here’s the sketch…another with the theme of making peace with winter.  I finally did the skeleton of the sycamore’s pale branches against an bright blue sky.  Voila (sorry, I’m working for a French company, it sneaks into my vocabulary now and then).

So, now the promised topic………

Every so often, art work is done that is labeled “It’s about the process, not the product”.  Such a philosophy has ended up in some excellent abstract art….and also some really bad abstract art.  Just check out the Craigslist artist section in your local community, you’ll find plenty of examples there.

So, once when I was burned out as hell doing my usual……..I decided to do art about the process.  The result was my “Love it or hate it” Namaste series:

I was very proud of myself…..until I went to the art reception of an acquaintance, a mixed media show.  There a  young woman, just barely out of high school, effused enthusiastically how the work in the show was “About the process, not the product”.  I nearly spit out my bad Chardonnay!  I had fallen into a cliche, artspeak trap.  I hung my head in shame.

So, back to representational art.  I enjoy doing it anyway, the ability to use symbolism, and the fact that people can bring their own emotions and associations to it.  But damn, it can be tiring.  Art for the process is like fingerpainting, joyous and messy.

But…I found the best of both worlds.  I found I could do representational art, with areas that just flowed with the process (another, more esoteric term for this is doodling).  It worked in, for instance, “Tiger in the Jungle”.  I just played with the leaves and had fun.

So, I’m going to do this sycamore picture going with the flow…..and see where it takes me.