No Snoozing Here

"Painting must be so relaxing!" The words reach your ears as if from a distance while standing before your easel in front of an inspiring scene. "Uh, no, not really" you might be inclined to say, at the same time not wanting to seem like a complaining ingrate to your temperamental muse. "Relaxing" is one of the last words I'd apply to the act of painting.

A walk in the woods is relaxing. Laying on the beach listening to the surf with your eyes closed is relaxing. Melting into a hot tub surrounded by the shapes and greens of a Japanese garden is relaxing. But painting is problem solving. And problem solving, at least for me, means rapid fire of all the little grey cells.

"Summer Evening" - ©Theresa Grillo Laird-oil on linen-18x24"
Displayed in Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional 2018. Contact here for information

Transforming your intention into a painted canvas, takes thought, effort and recall of the things that worked and didn't work in prior paintings. It's a balancing act with constantly shifting pieces. When you're really in the flow, the answers appear one after the other in front of your eyes as if by magic -though that special gift isn't bestowed every day. A painting session is a workout even though the painter seems to be exerting little physical effort. Like any workout, you feel both tired and exhilarated at the end of it. And hungry for more.