how many of you like to paint and how often do you do it? I have 4 blank canvases that are 16x20 and 3 that are 8x10 that are just begging to be painted but I feel like I can't get in the groove, how often do you paint and what do you do to get ideas, i've been told to look in magazines etc, but i can't be motivated to even do that...

jt

A few ideas:

Find a picture you like and paint the picture on one canvas, using only warm colors. The other canvas, only cool.

Find a picture you like and break it up into 4 pieces, and then hang them together (slightly spaced) to create one big picture.

If you're not even motivated to find a picture, though, wait. There's no sense pressuring yourself into art. If you stop thinking about it, you'll eventually enjoy something randomly and think of those canvases again. Best of luck!

I'm not a painter, but you could just paint the canvases a solid color/colors in the same hue and use them to just add color to your walls.

I'm planning on doing some of that for my new house...cheap, homemade artwork that isn't hard.

Or, if you want a real answer of something to actually paint... I like images of regular every day things. A lamp, a stapler, an ugly couch. Only if they're really bold and kinda abstract and look like a 5 year old did them though.

You're welcome for not offering more help :)
Kari

I'm a painting. Since I graduated from college, I totally go through fluxes of painting like a mad woman and then not touching a brush for a couple months. Right now I'm at the end of my not painting months. The holidays totally wiped me out and the last few paintings I did were family requests. So it really wasn't what I was inspired by. But I just was part of a gallery show and I sold 2 of my 3 paintings, so that sort of got the fire under my booty!

Anyway, don't force yourself to make art when you're not into it. At least in my opinion, you won't make such great art. Try doing some sketching instead, or take some photographs. Go to an art museum or gallery, that always gets me inspired. Either I see something that I don't like and think, well if that is being showed, I know I can show my work. Or if the work is great, then it will just get me to want to make great work myself!!

k-fresh, I love how you write "I'm a painting"! You probably didn't mean it like that (?) but it sounds fascinating and was fun to read for my brain :)

Haha, too funny. I totally meant I'm a painter. It's one of those times where my fingers are typing faster than my brain thinks. But I'm a painting has a nice lyrical flow to it! I'm glad someone likes my spelling mistakes!!! :)

:) you could make a project out of yourself sometime. It wouldn't even be an installation; you ARE the painting!

I don't think I qualify as a 'painter,' but I do like to paint sometimes, so, um, yeah. A lot of the time, if I'm having trouble getting started, or if I'm frustrated with something I'm working on that isn't coming out the way I want it to, I'll paint something really really simple. Like, um, big bright simple fried eggs. That way, it's just about impossible to mess up and get even more frustrated. And if you end up not liking them or think of something better, you can paint over them. That's why god created gesso.

thanks for the ideas,
It's not that i don't want to paint, i'm just
a) lazy and b) have painter's block.

I love inky's idea of starting simple and i can always paint over it :)

jt

antigone, i would have a HUGE body of work if i did something on my spelling mistakes! haha!