Work in Progress: art and life
May painting a work progress with only under-painting done
This week has been full, I mean full. Full of work, full of anticipation, full of friendship, full of anxiety, full full full, I am full. And so I share with you my unfinished work. May in it’s underwear. I could not complete this painting. As a person who lives by lists and due dates this unfinished goal is a blot on my literal record of things done and things left undone. But there is some liberation in this admission, once admitted, that I could not possibly complete this painting of May in the month May. So there it is, what at first feels like failure becomes a reason to reflect and rethink, release and recalibrate. So I added to my todo list, right under •finish May painting for calendar series, •write about not finishing May painting for blog. It is good to be reminded that we are never finished with this thing we call life. We are at every moment, until our final hour, final minutes I dare say, an unfinished work in progress. As humans we have the opportunity to continue to grow and change to know ourselves more fully, to share ourselves more wholly. And so today I share my unfinished art, my unfinished self, relieved by my admission of incompleteness, buoyed by my absolute faith that you, my dear readers, will understand, that we are all a work in progress.
I am off to the CREATE conference in Orange county today. And return Sunday where upon I leave for a two week vacation with my little family. I promise to post May then June paintings sometime in the next month. Through the summer I will post only sporadically and will return to regular posting in September.
Anarty
I love the monochromatic aspect to theis painting and the integration of MAY, looks great : )
Beth Foote
Thanks, Lisa, for the reminder that life is always a work in progress!
Martha Olmstead
I love the thought of your May picture being in its underwear…. Such a pretty color!
lisathorpeartist
I wish all my underwear was pink and red!
Jane
You think that your May painting us a work in progress, but I think it is beautiful as it is. The tones of pink shout May to me. Sometimes even those that are used to thinking outside the box find themselves unexpectedly in the box. I wonder if you need to feel bound to “finish” this painting. As the schools end their terms and the chidren rush to celebrate the freedom of summer vacation maybe you too could celebrate that freedom and not feel you have to finish, but that you have finished!
Just a thought.
This thought comes from the fact that I have been thinking a lot lately about celebrating the moment and not feeling tied to ‘to do’ lists. I have good thoughts, but I confess I’m not good at practicing what I preach!
lisathorpeartist
It is an intriguing thought, and though I love these paintings in all there stages including the red under paint stage I think this piece has even more to offer so in my own time I will let it express it’s full potential…. without a must do moment!