Today, serendipity and a sidestep from jazz. Serendipity was finding a wonderful image of this lily, a cobra lily, and recognizing that I wanted to use it right away. This is how art happens. Consider the Lilies is a one-off. I am not planning a series about flowers. But it was the right thing at the right moment and tells the right story, so who … Continue reading Considering the Lilies
Judgement Day comes in many ways. It came for me yesterday in the studio when I realized I was way past the day for cleaning things up. One would think, one would, that with all the spare time during the pandemic, I might have made more effort to tidy up the studio. And I did make some effort, but “tidying up” is not painting and … Continue reading Judgement Day and Creative Chaos
“Unsquare Dance” Colors of Jazz Collection ©2020, Molly Larson Cook 28″ x 22″ Acrylic on canvas Available I’ve been reading about paint. The thing is that the “art” of painting is about chemistry as much as it’s about art. I’m not a chemist. In fact, I failed chemistry and all it took to determine my inability to master chemistry was two days in a … Continue reading It’s About the Paint. Or the Music.
The holidays are here in full force, but I’ll admit that my head is more in the studio than in wrapping packages. I’ll get the packages wrapped in time, I know, but it’ll be a last minute rush because something happened – a good thing – in the studio. Of course, each good thing is balanced by something else, and yesterday it was balanced by … Continue reading Forget the Axeman – It’s Finished When I Say It’s Finished
I’ve spent a lot of years in the world of words – writer, writing instructor, editor, and oh, yes, reader. I’m familiar with William Faulkner’s famous advice to writers that they must sometimes “kill your darlings,” those phrases you are particularly fond of which are really not all that good. This kind of murderous idea is a little shocking, I suppose, but I laughed out loud … Continue reading Knowing When to Stop: The Axeman Cometh
Another gift from the Art Pixies who come in the night and leave things for me. Things I never dreamed of painting myself. Things that seem at once familiar and strange to me. You have to understand that I’m not a follower of “automatic writing” or “automatic painting” or the idea of art rising out of my depths. I’m a follower of doing the work. … Continue reading Frank and Vincent Have a Conversation
Art and Tulips 