Monday at The Starving Artist

When I fantasize about my perfect life, I dream about the possibility of having a place, a gathering of artists that join in to draw together, not to compare who's better than who, who went to what school, but to draw, to share in the common space and delight of gathering together to continue growing as artists. The Starving Artist makes me feel the reality of this dream. Collecting every Monday night, many of which I have missed due to commuting, artists of all ages join together, women and men, and we swap around who poses and we draw the figure.

Tonight I was a bit tired having rushed about my day and having left a painting at home for which I was working on to attend this evening gathering, contemplating if I wouldn't rather be continuing the piece at home. I rounded up my paints and an entourage of sketchbooks, watercolor paper, watercolors, pencils, watercolor pencils, you name it. One of my dilemmas has been that I have not responded well to my mediums the past few times. Once while in art school I had a girl tell me she was not particularly successful at painting as she was a line drawer or line artist rather than suggestion artist. This felt like a light bulb going off in my head, suddenly I had a way to articulate my connectedness with paint and seeming frustration with line. I am not a line drawer. Unfortunately, I often still try to educate my line, and have found this frustrating at these fun gatherings so today I tried something new.

What resulted is seen above. I had SO much fun. I liked what I did. I had this silly bit of excitement in thinking, "Wow, if I saw these done by someone else, I'd be drawn to them." So with an Ohio band playing softly through the room, reminding me of different geographies and different periods in my life when I was in the midwest, I had the best evening, steps closer to what I imagine my "rooted" area to be like.