4 Artists - 1 Subject (September)

"Wonderland" - Jelaine Faunce - 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

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"White Rabbits" - M Collier - 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

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"Candy Goblet" - Neil Hollingsworth - 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

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"Multiplication" - Otto Lange - 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

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Our First Subject: White Rabbit Candy, bought at an Asian grocery because I was so taken with the wild-eyed bunny on the front of the bag.
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In late July I pitched an idea to three other artists whose style was similar to my own. Being a full time artist can often make the "joy" of art feel like the "job" of art. Having an outlet that isn't intended for any particular location (gallery, commission, eBay, etc.) but is meant solely for childlike creative play, is so important. My pitch went as follows:
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Once a month, one of us picks an object to be the central focus of a painting. As we are scattered across the country, M and I being on the West Coast, Neil and Otto being in the Atlanta area, we'd need to either obtain four of one object and ship it out to the other three, or we'd need to pick an object which all four of us could obtain from our local national chain stores. How we choose to arrange that object for painting is entirely up to the individual and will remain a secret to us all until the month is up and we exchange jpeg's of our completed paintings. Because we are all realists and all lean toward strong dark/light contrast, the challenge will be in how we choose to portray the object, what we pair it with, how we arrange the setup, what story each of us wants to tell with our paintings.
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For me, that is really exciting. It's somehow more difficult, and I love difficult. I was weaned on difficult. Also, the thrill of knowing that at the end of each month it will be like Christmas morning when something I've anticipated and obsessed over will finally be mine to see, that something being three other paintings. Although someone from among the group who shall remain nameless (coughMcough) kept asking probing questions about what I was doing with the object for my painting. SOMEONE was one of those kids who would sneak downstairs before Christmas morning to pry the tape off their gifts, weren't they?
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I kind of like the whole analytical aspect of it as well. You learn a lot about yourself and other people by how they interpret a subject. For instance, this month I learned that I was probably a laudanum addict in a past life. Also, Neil's painting gave me a toothache because after I looked at it, I got REALLY hungry for those candies, and since I was the one to choose the first object for our monthly challenge, that meant I had a bag of that stuff sitting in my studio, minus the pieces I'd sent to the other three. Neil, I'll be mailing what's left of that bag to you, buddy!!! And the bill for my root canal. In fact, let's rename your piece "Cavity Goblet". ;o)
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Now on to the next challenge subject..........

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