right here, right now (part two)
peak shifting
took a two-day ‘neuroscience and art’ class at the smithsonian. expected the science and hows of art affecting the brain. but the teacher went the other way: what science (fMRI, etc) tells us about how the eye (he substituted the word ‘mind’ a lot, which, no. the eye is not the mind) interprets visual stimuli. eight other people in class, trained artists all, already grounded in technique, which i know is only one aspect of art, but an aspect i definitely lack. a little part of me that feels inadequate and surfaces at specific times. like during this class.
anyway, he talked about groupings and peak shift and rules of thirds and i did exaggerate his example on my canvas paper (oh, and canvas paper? no thank you. don’t like coaxing the paint to fill in all the gulleys and niches. much prefer primed wood or paper). my eye perceived, mind interpreted, hand detailed, but my way cause, again, i’m not good technique wise.
grouping, thirds, exaggeration
the teacher suggested improvements, which i KNOW is good and i want even though latent inadequacy spikes. but then, at the end of the second class, he held up my version of an everglades-like sawgrass scene for everyone, and one person reacted with enthusiasm, which was nice. anyway, i still didn’t completely understand what he was telling us about peak shifting. or at least i thought i understood but then when i slapped it on the canvas, he had extra things for me to do so i don’t think i got it after all. but maybe he was just pointing out extras. doesn’t matter anyway because i need to please only myself with my art, being in the enviable position of not having to sell it for a living. ego-patting if/when people do express an interest in buying, but i have neither the desire or time to push that hard.
played hockey outside for the first time. the chevy chase country club ladies needed some opponents. skating on an outdoor ice sheet sounds different. whacking a puck outside feels different too. improving my transitions, dribbling (not to speed yet 😬) and endurance. have a charity tournament coming up — Hockey for Heroes. my team, LAST CALL, comprised of osprey and navy women, will play against an army older-guys team at 02:15am (yes, in the morning) on saturday, 14 march. to donate, go to our tournament page.
and now for something completely different: saw taimane at the hamilton downtown. incredibly beautiful hawaiian woman, undulates across the stage, frantically strumming her ukulele, backed by a violin and classical guitarist. fun to watch, but ended up reminded me of a hoky rodrigo y gabriella. until taimaine sings, and then it’s eerily ethereal, really worth the price of admission. including both my spotty video so you can get an idea of her singing, and the better artist-approved one. interesting right?
to be continued again….