DJ Geribo

I've been working on this Hibiscus painting and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I did something here that I haven't really done before - I dropped the photo. I think I have been holding on to my reference photos like a baby holds a security blanket - I wasn't confident enough to let go. But I suddenly felt restricted by the photo, like it was more of a chore to hold onto it and I got impatient with myself for trying to follow it so closely. I started playing with the leaves and adding colors I wanted to see there instead of colors that were there (like in photo-realisim paintings).

Although I have been working towards a looser style for sometime now, I was still relying on photos not only for a composition that interested me enough to want to paint it, but because I wanted to make sure I had a guide to take me through the painting without feeling I would end up with a mess when left on my own.

Now, I haven't been in my studio as much as I have been in the past mostly because I haven't been inspired (or haven't allowed myself to be inspired) for several months now. As I wrote in a past blog entry, I was taking a break. Often, break times are those very important times when we let things simmer in us while we figure out where we want to go - in other words, they are much needed hibernation periods when we are going through a change or transition with our work. We absolutely need these times in order to grow. I think, I hope, that is where I have been and now I'm ready to re-emerge with a new confidence in my paintings.

I still don't feel confident that this painting is complete, but I'm getting close.