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The Road to Wellness
The Lesson
By Janet Berg
Recently I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a painting workshop (aka Artist's Boot Camp) in Santa Fe, M.M., taught by artist/writer Michael Scott. Loaded down with our easels and supplies, protected by hats, sunscreen and a "thick skin," we were led to remote areas in the mountains, desert and aspen forest.
As I'm primarily a studio painter, working outside of my comfort zone presented multiple challenges. The light changes quickly, so you must paint fast to capture the essence of the moment or it's gone forever. There's no time to spend on a highly finished, finely detailed product. The idea is to show the light, feeling, movement, space and direction of what you experience simply and with bold strokes.
My perfectionistic painting tendency was halted in no uncertain terms when Michael came up to my canvas, asked for my palette knife and proceeded to scrape off all of the paint so he could explain and demonstrate in a way that I could understand. It's all a dance, he says, and we record it when we paint. Show your strokes, don't cover them up. Don't be afraid to show where you've been.
How many of us become too comfortable in our ways, the patterns of our lives? Fearing failure or imperfection, we remain stagnant. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that going into uncharted territory, opening ourselves up to the moment, trying a new way can help us grow and expand.
Thank you, Michael, for the reminder. ©
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Previously in The Road to Wellness
A Year of Wellness
(October 10, 2002)
Building Creativity
By Janet Berg
(October 3, 2002)
Healing with Forgiveness
By Kate Jacobs
(September 26, 2002)
more...
Other articles by Janet Berg
Road to Wellness (September 19, 2002)
Road to Wellness (September 5, 2002)
The Road to Wellness (August 22, 2002)
more...
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