First Even Me Painting Finished!!!

Listening to Mason Jennings in my well-lit (thank you, spring forward!) studio apartment, I looked at Glory. My fingers gripped a small filbert paintbrush that held a perfect mixture of yellow ochre, titanium white, and cadmium red. Instead of reaching out towards Glory's face, my hand was still. It didn't go anywhere. I stood and waited. Eventually, I put my paintbrush down and stepped back. I crossed my arms, squinted, opened my eyes, squinted, opened my eyes (about 100 times) and grew in confidence that I had, indeed, finished Glory. 

I am proud to say that I have completed my first Even Me painting! Glory took a total of 47 hours of work. I wasn't quite sure how the finished piece would look, which is one of the reasons it took me so long to finish: I didn't know when to stop...until last Wednesday, of course! 

One of my new Delandian friends, Clark, who's quite the artist himself, described Glory as an impressionist painting. Although I've never considered my work to be impressionistic, I believe he's right: Glory is composed of small brushstrokes of color and has an emphasis on contrasting light. Maybe this is a new style emerging (for those of you who read {morethorp} you might find the word "emerging" to be particularly funny)? 

The first thing I thought of after finishing Glory was Glory herself: the real-life Glory. "I want her to see it," I thought to myself. Thankfully, one of my dear friends, Sara, is currently living and working in Tanzania. I asked her to show a photograph of the painting (image above) to Glory.

I found this video when I opened my email today:

With tears streaming down my face, I was completely awestruck. I had no words. I am so grateful to be working on such a touching project. I am completely inspired. Thank you so much, Sara, and all of my backers, and supporters!

www.morethorp.wordpress.com

Almost done!

The Morning Sesh has BEGUN!

It's a strange thing, growing up. Climbing into bed around 9 pm and waking up at 6 am was not foreseen, even in my adult life. However, I've reached that point (at least on weekdays), and I have to say, it's quite nice.
I have begun painting an hour before work every morning. It's an absolutely perfect time to paint. Usual nighttime interruptions such as text messages and phone calls are replaced with complete silence, total concentration, a cup of tea, and beautiful sunrises. This quintessential setting gives me freedom to meditate while I paint. Instead of focusing on the work day, or what's next on the checklist, I focus on the face I'm painting. I think about the child's character. I think about what the child is doing at the very moment I apply a stroke of color on his earlobe. I consider WHY I'm painting; for what reason. And I hope and pray for each child's dream to come true, whatever that may be. 
It's March 1st, and I am hours away from finishing two Even Me paintings. I've been working on Glory, as she was the first piece I started with. Instead of reaching a stage of completion, I reached a place of frustration with her. I couldn't identify the next step, what colors to use or where to focus, and although she's close to finished, I wasn't satisfied. For that reason, I put her aside and set John on the easel. 
I was hesitant to work on John out of fear that this painting, too, would lead to frustration. However, I've experienced quite the opposite. John is coming along much faster than I anticipated. My brush is drawn to hues more quickly, colors are mixed correctly on the first try, I have a desire to paint all the time, and everything seems to make sense. Glory, being the pioneer painting, was and hopefully will be, the most difficult of the 24. What was that wise saying I've heard before, "Practice makes Progress"? With all that being said, I am hopeful that each painting will get easier and easier, the more I practice. 

17 Hours on Glory.

Hello World!

Just wanted to let you know I'm working like crazy on finishing the first Even Me painting, Glory. I've put in about 18 hours of work on her, and she's becoming more and more detailed! As I've become more focused on Glory, I've worked less on John. However, I've probably worked at least 10 hours on John, which means I've put in close to thirty hours for the month of January. I'm aiming for forty hours a month in order to finish twelve paintings by 2013! It's a bit more challenging than I thought to paint after working an 8-5 job. But not to worry; I am completely stoked about this project and am motivated!

Thanks for your encouragement!

More paint!

Paint in a closet?

The last thing an artist wants to do is throw his or her painting into a closet. Well, I guess I can't overgeneralize. When I say artist I mean me. It kills me to think that thirty or forty hours of work can sit, collect dust, and take up space behind a closed door. Art, at least this art project, is meant to be seen.

As I'm sitting, chewing on some spinach during my lunch break, I consider what to do with my Even Me paintings as I finish one after the other. I am about 1/3 of the way done with two faces, John and Glory. Will where they go when they're finished? Will they sit in a storage unit? Or, I guess they could take up space in my apartment while I start new faces. 

Having said that, those two options don't sound too appealing. So, here's a thought. Originally, I wanted to wait to show all 24 Even Me faces together, which would probably be sometime in 2014. And, I'm still going to do that, but until then, I want to show one or two paintings at a time for a few reasons:

1. If I have real-life (not just in my head) deadlines, I will be more motivated to paint.

2. Showing a couple paintings here and there will help familiarize communities of the final 20 x 30 ft installation, which could ultimately open up more opportunities in the future. 

3. I could escape my worst fear: paintings in a closet. 

So. There you have it. If you're in contact with any galleries, coffee shops, boutiques, museums, airports, or any space (even your house) that could hold a 4x4ft painting (or more), please email me at jennathorp@gmail.com. Maybe John and Glory can lead this journey!

Progress!