Masterpiece In A Day 2011

Da-da-da-DAH!
It’s that time of the year again! It’s September! It’s the Fountain Square Art Fair, now known as Art Squared!

That also means…It’s time for Masterpiece In A Day. 

I’m a fast painter. As long as I sit still long enough and just DO IT, I can get a lot of painting done. But the key there is the sitting still part.  MIAD is an endurance test, by all measurements.

I like working with acrylics over oils precisely because they dry quickly. In the sun, on a nice 70-ish day, they dry very quickly. This is all very good, as I said, I paint fast. But…My attention span wavers, constantly. That’s why I’m not in Animation.

I always think about a painting for a while before a brush hits the canvas. I have a concept in my head. I have it mostly mapped out. I can “see” it before it’s even created. Then I compensate for the ‘short’ between my hand and my brain (nothing EVER turns out as I see it) and…Voila! The finished piece!

There’s been a lot of construction in the Fountain Square area all summer, extending the Cultural Trail that runs through downtown to the once-close-but-since-the-70’s-cut-off-from-downtown-by-the-interstate Fountain Square Arts District. The Trail will be a good thing…when it’s completed. This has been shown in previous districts. But it’s a tough trial for the local businesses. The project was supposed to be done in July but then they discovered a nice relic from Fountain Square’s connected-to-downtown-days: The iron remains of the train track that used to service the area, using the Fountain as a turnaround. Why no one already knew it was still there, buried under the pavement, I’ll never know. But they had to assess it for historical value, then rip it out, and continue constructing…and they have. They now say they’ll be done in December.

In the mean time, I get to see everyday one of the things I really really like to paint: Orange pylons! OF COURSE I’m going to paint a pylon for MIAD!

I took a picture of my subject that morning, after registering, since I didn’t want to actually sit in the construction zone to paint. Remy and I carried on our tradition of setting up shop outside of the Hero House comic shop by the Fountain and I started painting.

Remy, my dutiful assistant, assisted my by giving a puppy-face to passersby and collecting their affection. She’s a good helper.  (Last year she participated, this year she declined).

I’m happy with my work; at one point, I was scratching my head and wondering why it doesn’t look right! Every now and then, it’s good to remember to stand up, step away, turn around, and look at the painting fresh. You’ll see where you’re going wrong, and be better able to fix it. I did that, as well as my high school art teacher’s trick of turning the canvas upside-down—this refreshes your brain by forcing it to look at the painting anew—and I labored on.

People came, commented, left, Remy got fussy, went home with the BF, I painted on. I finished just in time for the 3pm deadline: Five hours of continuous painting. Turned in my work and went home to rest: I was exhausted! Whoever thought it could be so tiring! (Oh wait, I did this last year…and the year before that!). 

We capped off the day with Remy and I marching in the neighborhood art parade, Remy as the World War 1 Flying Ace, my holding her leash and holding her “Curse You, Red Baron!” sign.  Then it was time for the results…

Ok I didn’t win this year either. But I really like my painting, and, while there are things to fix, I’m happy with how it turned out. I did get it selected to be shown in the October First Friday show at the Wheeler Arts Center (where we registered and were judged at), so that’s really cool too!

Yeah…I’ll do it next year. I’ve got until then to improve my endurance and quicken my pace!