Synthesis

Florence, Italy (August 2012)

I have the attention span of a piece of fluff in a windy alley. The past month or two has revealed a real conundrum:

Do I:

1. Discipline myself to make choices, stick with them, and make a group of paintings/drawings that focuses on one idea, regardless of whether I lose interest? To have any kind of success as a commercial artist, I'd need to do this-- choose an idea and forget about the other ones, no matter how loudly they clamor for attention! And also, I think a good artist takes an idea and explores it thoroughly-- and I don't often get past the initial spark.

2.Let the lack of focus and A.D.D. take center stage as the content of the work. 

I would still absolutely need limits and constraints, but I could spill all the wandering thoughts and ideas onto a giant surface (unstretched canvas? Paper? Wall?). It would be sort of a documentation of creative furor and anxiety. 

***Note: Been inspired by philosopher Carl Jung's strategy of getting through his bouts of mental illness by recording them thoroughly and studying them later.***


I've already chosen number two, at least for my first semester. It seems a more honest route, and i've never tried anything like it-- I generally spend my energy berating myself for not being more single-minded and having a 'thing' like other artists I admire.
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Process: I've been drawing on big rolls of white paper. Here are my two so far (dimensions: about 3.5-4 ft by perhaps 7 ft. I'll take better measurements ASAP). Both are still in progress.

Studio Floor, July-August 2012