New paintings, hot off the easel, and some thoughts on art and life ...

   (originally posted June 27, 2011)

I’m not really a big fan of Andres Segovia and I know nothing about classical guitar music.  But Adres Segovia’s Suite Española, Op. 47: No. 5: Asturias is like Pavlov’s bell to me, signaling that it’s time to buckle down and get serious about painting.

It started when I took a class in life drawing from George Rivera, executive director at the Triton Art Museum in Santa Clara.  Because of his unwavering encouragement, George is a wonderful teacher for artists who are just starting out.  He ran that class for several years; all levels were welcome and students drew from a live nude model.  We would work for ten to twenty minutes, then take a break and look at each other’s drawings.  Then the model would take a new pose and we would begin another drawing.

All during those drawing classes, George played music, usually jazz or classical.  He often played Segovia, and somehow Suite Espanola got stuck in my head.  In my mind it became linked to the serious work of art – the “keep trying” attitude that George encouraged.

Getting my music ready is one of my painting rituals.  I think these little routine things that we do in our painting time are an important part of the work.  I have a few other rituals (and I’m interested – what are other artist’s rituals?).  I always lay out my paint tubes in the same way when I’m getting ready to work.  I get out my notebook (I was trained as a scientist, so I know the value of recording notes on every “experiment”) and record the date and any pertinent notes on the painting. 

Once I’m ready, I begin to paint, and as I do, the music plays.  My play lists are varied, usually mixing many genres.  But no matter what else is in the mix, there’s always the Segovia piece.  And when it comes up on the play list (which can happen at any time since I set my iPod to shuffle) I always feel a shift in my work rhythm, and my efforts intensify.  If I was ever out somewhere and heard this music I think I’d have to rush home and paint!

At the end of the session, cleanup is another ritual.  The process is different depending on whether I’m working in oil, acrylic or watercolor, but in any case it’s a pleasurable rite of completion.  Hopefully as each painting session ends I’m a little closer to reaching my goals in art.