The Table Part 4 - From Junk to Art

Hey, you know what would be really cool? I’m thinking I should do a video this week. What do you say? Ok, ok.... You’ve convinced me. Let’s make this happen. Oh, and I’m also thinking we keep it short and sweet. I’m busy, you're busy, so let’s get right to it, shall we?

For those who read last week’s assignment and turned in their homework early, feel free to skip ahead. For those of you just catching up, here’s a quick recap:

I had an idea to convert a piece of wall art into a table, one thing led to another, and I made the decision to do the exact opposite. I decided to turn a table into a piece of art. Now that you are caught up let's join the rest of the class for this week’s show and tell

No two artists have exactly the same approach when it comes to the painting process. There are some artists out there who have the uncanny ability to go straight to finish. They start at one end and work their way to the other. Boom! It's done. I’ve always envied those artists, but that’s not me. I’m more of a build it as I go kind of guy. My process includes lots of trial and error and that's why I like working with acrylic gouache. It gives me the flexibility I love. Mistakes are easy to rework, and unlike watercolor, the opaqueness makes that option accessible. I work additively, gradually, building in stages because it’s not always clear to me what’s going to work and what’s not, but hey, this isn’t meant to be an artist's tutorial, so I won’t continue to bore you with the step-by-step.

The Secret

Want to know a little secret? The process you’ve been following with me for the past few weeks isn’t exactly an honest reflection of how I work. The reality is I’ve been working on this piece for months. The other not so pretty reality is my studio is crowded with pieces or art in all various stages of completion. Sometimes that process take years. Yes, readers contrary to what social media would have you believe a finished piece doesn’t happen in 30 seconds or less.

Art takes as long as it takes, and that’s ok. That’s the joy of creation. I’ve been an artist for 40 years now, professionally anyway, and every single contracted project I’ve ever worked on came with a deadline. It’s what’s kept me in business all that time but when I create these pieces, I do it for the love of art and the joy of creation. That means removing the deadline so time is not a factor. This is not about how good can I make it in the time allotted. This is simply how good can I make it?

So, as I approach completion with this project, I realize that while the art may be almost complete the table itself is not. There are many more decisions to make:

• How do I want the final product to look?

• Where do I find the perfect custom handles?

• What kind finish should I use? 

...but this was supposed to be a short post, and that’s a story for another day.

Thanks for joining me, art friends. As always, it’s been my pleasure, and I’ll see you again in the next post.