Paintings in Process: A Series of ShortS

When you see a painting hanging in a gallery it can be hard to remember that the painting was once a blank canvas. In my latest video series “Paintings in Process”, you get to see a painting at various stages, from start to finish.

Check out the videos here.

The paintings in this blog and the videos will be featured in a solo show at Lynn Hanson Gallery. Find out more on my Exhibits Page.

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The Process of Creating a Painting

Sometimes when I’m painting, I take pictures of a single piece at different stages. Having these photos is a great way for me to improve my technique and to look at how I make decisions about where to go next. I also use the photos when I teach to show students how to move paintings from start to finish and to wade through the muck of the middle stage. Also, it’s just fun to see a painting emerge!

Sometimes you’ll see that I tape colored paper over an area to see if I want to remove something or change a color. It can be very hard to decide to let go of something I really like but ultimately doesn’t fit in the piece. Sadly, painting doesn’t come with a “Save As” button. If you watch the process video for Me and You, You and Me, you’ll see that I had to let go of a very friendly golden lab. That was hard, and he will be missed.

Some of these paintings are complete re-starts, i.e. paintings I started overtop of a completed piece that just wasn’t working for me. A couple of examples of this are By the Bay and Before Sunset.

People often ask me how long it took me to create a painting. This is an impossible question to answer for many reasons. One is that some of these paintings took years to complete because there were things I needed to learn before I could finish them. By the Bay, for example, lived in my studio for quite a while as another painting (check out the video to see more). Then, when I realized I wanted to drastically change it, it took me many, many months to finish the new one. Sometimes I just need to live with a painting for long periods between starting and finishing. I may work on it for a while and then let it lie fallow before taking it up again.

So don’t let these short videos fool you. The process of creating a painting can be a long and complicated one.

Don’t forget to check out my YouTube Channel for many more videos about painting techniques and the creative process

"Night Cats" - Underpainting

I often create a colorful ground, see what inspires me, and go from there

Process #1

Process #2

Process #3

Process #4

Process #5

"Night Cats" - final piece

"Me & You, You & Me" - underpainting

This is the colorful ground I often start with. You can see the chalk outlines where I was beginning to find form

Process #1

Process #2

Here I used painted paper to block out the dog and see if the painting worked better without it.

Process #3

Although I loved the dog, the painting didn’t need it so I had to kill my darlings.

"Me & You, You & Me" - final piece

Studio Tour Video

My new Studio Tour video is here! If you haven’t had the chance to see it yet, you can watch it here. The supply list for the video is also available, which takes you through the tools and materials I use daily in my studio. My other art videos can be found on my YouTube channel.

Upcoming Class: Creative Journaling

I’ll be teaching a new and wonderful workshop, Creative Journaling.

Creative Journaling is all about exploration and expression, without the pressure of trying to produce artwork for exhibition or publication. It’s a private place to create, fool around, delight in, explore, and develop ideas.

Who is this class for? Everyone.

You don’t need to be a practicing painter, writer, sculptor, or musician. . You may be a breadmaker or forestwalker. Whatever you choose to do, you can find ways to enhance your ways of being in the world.

This workshop will include a wide variety of expressive techniques, using words and various art methods. Some of the exercises will be:  Art Journaling, Freewriting, using a Sketchbook, Book Altering, Poetry, and Creativity Coaching. It will be an experimental journey with many ideas you can take with you.

The great thing about journaling is you NEVER have to show anyone. It’s just for you. This isn’t about making something “good.” It isn’t about pleasing anyone, including your inner critics. It’s messy, mistakes are allowed — and even encouraged — as is a friendly attitude toward our imperfection. 

Journaling can act as:

• A way of kindling and engaging the creative process and developing ideas

• A way to explore our stuck places and our fears about ourselves as people and artists

• A quiet and meditative way of spending time with ourselves

• A way of expressing ourselves with words, and beyond words

I invite you to join me for this Creative Journaling workshop on September 9th and 10th at Artist & Craftsman Supply in Seattle -- more info and to register:  Workshop Description — Jacqui Beck

Such Is Life

Who I Listen To, 19x24

The painting series, Such Is Life, I’ll be showing at Columbia City Gallery this April comes from musings that have been with me for quite a while. Unlike my Personal Prayer Flag or Palimpsest series, though, the concept is more complex.

I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a human being on this planet, specifically when it comes to relating to others. As I was painting I kept in mind the fact that we tend to connect with people similar to ourselves, and far too often implicitly fear those who are different.

This past year or so I’ve been thinking more about race. A friend of mine had a horrible experience which, I believe, was a result of the color of her skin. I began thinking, talking, and reading more about race, as well as considering my own white privilege. I’m not going to create a meaningful relationship with someone of a different race if I’m in denial of how my racial privilege affects my life and theirs.

When I did my Gender Personal project (www.genderpersonal.org), I spent over a year exploring the concept of gender identity, and an important way for me to process these new ideas has been through my art. I believe that the personal expression of art allows us to tinker with, delve into, and form connections with new concepts.

Getting Along with Strangers, 30”x30”

Another influence on this latest series has been the book Lost Connections by Johann Hari. Johann writes about the huge number of people worldwide, who suffer from anxiety and depression.

After years of research and traveling the globe, he has come to believe that this is related to our disconnection from each other, from ourselves, from meaningful work, and from the natural world. His work is all about rediscovering and rekindling those connections. No matter who we are or what our life experiences have been, we crave and need these connections to find meaning in our lives.

I’m also reading The Book of Joy by Douglas Abrams, which is a presentation of discussions between the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. These wise men also maintain that it is connection with others that underlies a deep feeling of joy in our lives, especially when this includes compassion and support.

Such Is Life will be at Columbia City Gallery from April 3rd through May 12th, and I invite you to come by and see it. The opening reception is Saturday April 6th, 5:00 – 7:00.

Time Enough , 24x30

Here’s a list of books which inspired me as I was creating this series:

• Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – And the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari

• The Book of Joy, a presentation of discussions between the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, written by Douglas Abrams

• Things that Make White People Uncomfortable by Michael Bennett

• What Does it Mean to Be White: Developing White Racial Literacy by Robin DiAngelo

Different Ways of Seeing It All, 30x30

Not the Same, 24”x24”

For more info about the Such Is Life exhibit and Columbia City Gallery visit Jacqui’s exhibits page.

To view the Such Is Life series as a whole, click here.

“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk with others.”

— African proverb

Showing Up

“Chicken Connection”

I think it was Hemingway who said that the most important thing for a writer is the “pants seat in the chair seat.” You can’t write or paint if you don’t show up.

I was looking through a recent writer’s almanac, and found this: tell your subconscious you will meet her at the studio at 10. Then honor it. She may get some work done ahead of time (cognitive theorists call this Incubation). They suggest we ask her a question then forget about it with our conscious mind.

After a while, ideas, questions, answers or ways to play with this idea may come to you at odd moments (in the shower, as you nap in the afternoon, or on a walk). That’s why the Google Corporation headquarters has plenty of couches for people to lie around and muse on. I don’t know if they have showers, but maybe they should.

Do you take time to just wonder about things? Do you use a journal to scribble and muse? Do you carry notecards with you so that you can write down creative ideas or questions to yourself throughout the day?

Here are some muse-questions of mine:

• If a person had two heads, how would they decide what movie to go to?

• How would I paint something invisible, like a secret or a ghost or a memory, or the feeling of a garden in the morning?

• What do I really want to paint?

Have fun, keep at it, stay wacky, and show up!