Homeless studio

This month my longtime painting studio, where the daily work was done, is closing because the new landlord has new plans for the property. The solution to this, for now, is an experiment. Instead of a studio full of books, and piles of sketches, and the big old easel mounted to the wall, everything is being made portable and kept neatly where I sit zazen .

For as long as this works I will be taking the paintings out to parks, or the local ravine, or maybe more urban settings, to paint. The idea is to stay open to locations I would never usually think of.


This was the studio today, set up in a park. These are three panels being sketched up, part of a series of abstract (non-rep) painting for a local gallery. It was a real breath of fresh air. People in the park jogging or walking the dog, could see someone was concentrating and just left it be. One guy came by and was a little curious, but the point is not to be on show, but just to work. The painting was seen in a new context, and new ideas came up.

Attachment 3711

Just sharing, and will share more as it unfolds....

Gassho
Daizan

sat today

Daizan,

what a creative response to changing circumstances! Not clinging to what was, or trying to re-create the same, but flowing forward with the flow. I like it. Good and interesting things will come of it, I'm sure. Thanks for sharing this teaching. It reminds me of this often-quoted line:

One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore.
- Andre Gide

Gassho
Byōkan
sat today

Wonderful. Thank you for sharing the experience of what is, Daizan [gassholook]

Gassho
Washin
sat today

Wonderful! Sounds exciting.

Gassho
Lucy
Sat today

Homeless Daizan! That sounds like a great solution and the difference in light and locations may well be very interesting when it comes to how your work unfolds.

I look forward to hearing how it develops.

Thank you for your practice.

Gassho
Kokuu
#sattoday

Lovely. Wandering monks ... wandering poets ... wandering painters ...

... Always At Home ...

Gassho, J

SatToday

http://terebess.hu/zen/sato/01.jpg

Hi Daizan,

Fresh air, life as an inspiration and a relaxing park. I get the feeling you'll feel a lot more comfortable working in your portable studio... if weather permits, of course.

Home and studios are all under the same roof.

Gassho,

Kyonin
#SatToday

Lovely Daizan ... this world in its true form is a creative canvas for us to express. =)

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

Hi Daizan,

This is truly inspiring since sometimes when something in our physical world changes we may not tend to see how life is unfolding before us with so many new and creative possibilities. Even though an actual physical studio has closed down, your true studio, the one of the heart never has. It is through this interior, very personal and sometimes reclusive space that art, color, emotion and expression flow.

With the best of wishes.
"Que viva el arte"!

Deep bows
Gassho
Mike
Sat2day

Sounds like fun

Gassho

Sat Today

What they said [emoji846] An inspiring and wise teaching, thank you Daizan! Please continue to share.

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking great, Daizan! :)

Thanks for sharing.

Gassho,
Andoitz.

SatToday.

Beautiful solution, and hopefully others might consider "other venues" for creative works!

The World can always use a few more artists, and plenty of colour!


Gassho,
Geoff.

SatToday

The homeless experiment is on again off again, because of this being Canada, and it being the fall. I have also set up a small studio in my Zazen room. It is too small to work in all the time, and I try to paint outside when weather is permitting. The big old easel from the studio (fixed and patched and held together with clamps) could not fit at home so I bought a portable easel for outdoor work.

It is odd maybe that working outdoors would produce non-rep panels and not landscapes, but that has been my headspace lately.

Here are some small examples @ 9"x 12".

Attachment 3798Attachment 3799Attachment 3800Attachment 3801Attachment 3802


This is very different from my representational work (examples here.. http://www.richardhermanart.com/catalogue.html) and it is interesting to see the response to non-rep work. In terms of selling to the public through an art dealer, there is a much narrower market, but it is a passionate one. People who like this kind of work really like it. People who do not are usually left unmoved. Outside of the "art scene" many people rank art by degree of perceived difficulty. Art that appears to be a technical feat is raised up while "Abstract art" is often talked about like "something my kid would do". It is a cliche to even mention that but it is what you encounter. The thing that is interesting for me is that big impressive representational paintings can be a lot easier to do, employing established conventions and techniques, tricks of the trade, and planning. A landscape starts with a scene you can rest on-in, and all that is required is the fun of mimicking that sensible world with paint. This involves using paint to make suggestions to the eye, and knowing how much to suggest. Suggest too much and you have a dead painting, suggest too little and it dissolves into impressionism, find that sweet spot that meets the viewer half way and the viewers mind will fill in the blanks and invest the image with her own life. Look closely at a well done landscape and it is just a wonderful mess of dabs and strokes. Non-representational painting starts with nothing to lean on. It is not abstract, abstraction starts with a representation of a recognizable thing, then abstracts it. This is different. It is just building structure and color that represents nothing, and means nothing. To me it is more challenging and in a way much more like our Zen practice. Anyway....lots of words for a wordless painting practice.

Gassho
Daizan

sat today