c. Susan Sorrell Hill
Recently, I was gifted with a new (to me), very fancy drawing table, and I splurged on a new drafting chair to go with it. Both are gorgeous…fine wood, beautiful design, excellent craftsmanship and high functionality. I was delighted, and couldn’t have asked for nicer studio furniture. My little “droid,” a small set of wooden drawers which hold some of my painting supplies, and my file cabinet fit neatly under the table. Perfect!
The table and chair sit squarely in the middle of my eleven-by-eleven foot studio. They definitely Take Up Their Space. And the longer I own them, the more certain I am: that table and that chair are secretly in collusion with identical purpose: to keep me firmly on the non-productive sidelines, preoccupied with admiring their Beauty and not daring to think that I could paint anything half so worthy of Their Perfection. I felt their effect immediately. How could they have become such fast friends and cohorts so quickly? I asked myself.
If you don’t see the connection between the art I’ve posted this week, and my sad story about the new residents (and their antics) in my studio, all I can say is, “Maybe you’ve never been visited by the dreaded Artist Block…” Lucky you.
“Untitled” (snowstorm scene from my unpublished book, The Emperor’s Pear Tree.) watercolor, pen & ink, gouache
The Dastardly Duo
On an entirely different note…
In imitation of bloggers I admire, like Holly Ward Bimba over at Golly Bard and Julie Danielson over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Why Stop at Six?, and to preserve some sanity in my ever-more-busy blogosphere, I’ve decided to begin answering my lovely commenters here on the blog, instead of in private emails. Of course, If you ask me very personal questions or want very personal answers, I will still continue to reply in an email if you’ve linked your address to the comment form. Thanks for understanding…and for leaving such lovely comments!
Wow. I love your watercolors. Beautiful and inspiring.
Thank you, Laura. I love your art for the IF “identical” post…the penguin and the suited, slick-haired guy have so much personality! I agree, Illustration Friday IS a fun place to hang out.
I know that feeling! I remember when mine was new, it took me several weeks to sit down and create, it was so beautiful! Start small and build up…maybe sketch or collage or just paint little blocks of paint, you’ll get tired of that quickly and want to work!
Keep us posted! 
Ah, those devious furniture objects! Great story and beautiful painting! I love the style and color of it. I had one of those horrible spells a couple months back. I took off about four days out of town after at least a year of pretty constant art, and when I got back I just could not get started again. It took a couple weeks! Aaargh. But I do think it heralds a new facet to your work, hopefully a good one.
Hi Susan, thanks for stopping by my blog and leave your kind comment. You are very kind, but I think you exaggerate your appreciation about my work. Well, I do not exaggerate about yours, because it really is masterfully done
always a pleasure to see your pictures.
(A separate paragraph for your table and your chair, great, congratulations, it looks like the best place to work!!!!)
Trying to get out of an artist block here! September is usually a time to get seriously back to it as my kids usually go back to school. This year they are all done and in different directions so my routine is less rigid. It should mean more time for art but I find myself wanting to run off instead of sitting and dreaming.
The illustrations for your Emperor’s Pear Tree are goreous, hope a publisher picks it up!
Great illustration and happy for the new furniture:)
On the other hand, I heard Anne Lamott speak at a writer’s convention once, and she said the best thing a writer could do for herself was to buy a good ergonomic chair, because it tells you that your writing is important. You’re going to be spending a lot of time in it, and you want to be as comfortable as possible. Perhaps that’s the way to thin of your new table and chair. That you DESERVE them because they’re beautiful, and you’re going to USE them.
Of course maybe they’re too pretty. I might be afraid of messing them up. My art table top is a piece of plywood I sanded and varnished (I did build a very sturdy base with shelves underneath to hold it), but there is nothing precious about it, so I don’t feel bad about splattering paint or spilling ink on it. Once when an artist friend was visiting, she lamented the she always has to be so careful of the surfaces she works on (I think mostly her dining room table) and that she wished she had an art table she could make messes on.
But your picture is absolutely gorgeous. It makes a hollow space in the middle of my chest, with a certain kind of longing. So evocative!
oh I can empathise – I have 4 drawings I need to start today and a commission to finish but… I’m drinking tea and visiting my blogging friends.
The table looks amazing as does your snow drawing. Hope your muse returns soon.
This is my first stab at answering comments right here on the blog…hope it pans out. Thanks EVERYONE for the continued well-wishes, encouragements, commiserations and complements. I really value my far-flung creative blog friends!
Indigene: You’re right…baby steps is the answer to conquering the new-furniture phobia. When I first got them, I managed to make two or three paintings, in spite of my awe, but then I was side-tracked by LOTS of computer and networking stuff (for months) and now that I’m back to right brain, I see that the nervousness is still there. Alas. Perhaps I didn’t spend enough time to satisfy the “21 days to change any habit and get used to anything new” rule… I intend to send out some book dummies next week, so that will be an excellent motivator to overcome, once and for all! And…you finished fifteen paintings in three weeks?!?! I’m totally in awe.
Cindy D.: I think you’re right…blocks herald a new phase of work. I always notice that when I’m away from the drawing and painting for a good while and doing something else (or not being able to work), especially traveling, that some part of me has been working and progressing all along. I come back to the drawing table in a different place from where I left it. Good thing, those other parts of Life are SO insistent! And…great Uma Thurman eyes on your ladies!
Roberto: You are too modest by far…your paintings are wonderful, unique and warm my heart in some mysterious way. I loved your recent post with photos taken around your house, and your new masthead with photo of you, sans eyes. Great to get a peak at the life of other artists, isn’t it? I often discover that I have so much more in common with them than I might have thought…often, even our studios seem similar somehow.
Catherine: I realized recently that, across the board, it’s a challenge for me to switch from left-brain to right-brain activities. I’m good at both, when I’m in them, but going from one to the other is not so easy. For me, it usually requires some sort of ritual: yoga, a cup of tea, reading just a little inspiring literature…or daydreaming, as you say. I don’t think there’s a superhighway between ways of operating in the world (left and right brain), though for some, the path is a little more trod than for others. Balance, balance I tell myself…both ways seem to be needed. I think you love COLOR as much as I do, by the look of your paintings…have you every tried painting with only one or two colors in a painting, as an approach to artist block? Hmmmm. have to try that myself!
Monica: Thank you! And those little foxes on your “identical” post are cool!
Tilley: Such a sweet compliment about the “hollow space in the middle of your chest.” Thank you! You must be very self-observant too.
I like that: we deserve good tools, good furniture. I tell myself this every time I spend the big bucks on a new Winsor and Newton Series 7 watercolor brush…but they are the best, and they work like a dream too. I’m not too messy in my work habits, so I don’t think I’m nervous about messing up the furniture…something about “living up to” the beauty and perfection of it maybe. And I *totally* want one of those ergonomic chairs…but the price tag: EGAD!
Sue: Thanks for the snowstorm compliment! Hope you’re back to artwork by now…the internet can be so demanding and seductive.
Yes!!! I definitely like this answering of comments all in one place. Hope you like it too? Thanks, everyone.