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#ScribesAndMakers 19 March: At what age did you start creating? All kids create. I'm lucky to have 2 "first paintings," from middle school & college, both of which I like a lot.

18: What would your best creative life look like if you stretch beyond realistic, but still keep it plausible?
Possible dreams include a home studio in Mexico, large enough to hold workshops for local & visiting artists; teaching & showing when I travel to my sister's & to friends; devoting months each year to writing.

My first painting from early adolescence, for a middle school activities period. Yellow, red, orange, and purple flowers; leaves and stems in dark and light green; a few blobs in blue, white, brown, light blue represent flower pots. The overall effect is a horizontal rectangle of edge to edge bright color. It's acrylic paint on card stock paper. I hope I still have it somewhere; at least I have the photo.
My first painting as an adult / late adolescent. What started as a representational painting of 2 shells became an abstract expression of feelings. Created for my first college painting class with limited colors: white, dark blue, and brown. The top-left (of this 1:1.4 rectangle) is a wavy white blob with dark blue and blue-grey added for shading. The greater part of the painting (on masonite board) is vaguely a bisected ovoid shape in light and dark brown, with accent marks in dark blue, dark brown, and white. One of the markings at upper-center-right resembles a closed eye. Very dark blue, almost black, forms an irregular border at the right side, curving to the bottom, going off the plane and picking up again a small bit at the bottom-left. A classmate remarked that this painting elicited strong, unsettling feelings in her. That excited me to the possibilities of communicating through abstract art.
#scribesandmakers
This entry was edited (3 weeks ago)
in reply to Rob 🏳️‍🌈 RMiddleton.Art

Walter Thinman
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Walter Thinman
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the power picture makes me think of a hairy little creature emerging from the water and embracing its parent. Like it was afraid it was going to drown and is now finding comfort in its parent's arms, but you can still see the fear in its face.
in reply to Walter Thinman

Rob 🏳️‍🌈 RMiddleton.Art
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Rob 🏳️‍🌈 RMiddleton.Art
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I appreciate hearing your take now, as I can see how vividly you're interacting with my work. But I'll tell you, descriptions like yours above used to drive me up the wall. LOL I was making & sharing work before I learned how to! It was difficult for me to permit interpretations that differed so vastly from my own. I felt hurt... Threatened, somehow, that someone else was taking control of my work. It angered me in much the same way as someone sharing horoscopes. 🙃
This entry was edited (3 weeks ago)
in reply to Rob 🏳️‍🌈 RMiddleton.Art

Walter Thinman
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Walter Thinman
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I can see where you're coming from, and especially with abstract art I know it can be frustrating for the artist when everyone wants to make it something tangible.
in reply to Walter Thinman

Rob 🏳️‍🌈 RMiddleton.Art
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Rob 🏳️‍🌈 RMiddleton.Art
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@saposcat The worst for me is when folks seem to want a decoder key. It's one thing to let one's imagination roam & share what one sees, as you did. What I truly dislike is when someone insists there must be a right answer, or tells me what I "must have" meant!
@Walter Thinman
in reply to Rob 🏳️‍🌈 RMiddleton.Art

Walter Thinman
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Walter Thinman
• •
yeah, that's definitely frustrating. I haven't been around art and artists in a long time. I'm not sure I would have made the comment I did when I was more actively making art and hanging around with artists.
in reply to Walter Thinman

Rob 🏳️‍🌈 RMiddleton.Art
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Rob 🏳️‍🌈 RMiddleton.Art
• •

@saposcat but that's just it, I'm glad you did! And I don't want to regret what I told you either. Any conversation about art is better than none. And usually there's none. Even at art openings! I may have said, "I hate it when," or whatever — but it's not true. It's memorable at least. I don't want to censor, I want more exchange.

I hope today is not for mix ups & hurt feelings. Car trouble & poor sleep are hurting me IRL but on this tag I feel open, supportive, & positive!

@Walter Thinman
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