The Fly at the Window and the Limited Palette (CVP)

In my last post about my CVP experience, I wrote this:

When it comes to art-making, most of us embark on a new piece with a clear plan. But what if art is exactly like life - better in every way if we let stop trying to impose ourselves on it? Better in every way if we just see what comes up and then respond to it?

I've been thinking more about this over the last few days. Why is this the case? Why does my work flow better if I start without a plan?I decided it all has to do with the fly at the window.Have you ever tried to help a fly get outside? There he is, trapped in the house on a  glorious sunny day, so you open the window and try and usher him out - but instead of seizing the opportunity, he keeps bashing against the glass! He wants to get out, but he just can't see what we can see.I think many artists are like the fly. There are endless possibilities for our work and yet we can't see them. Instead, we keep bashing against that glass, doing what we have always done and relying on the things we already know.Since I started CVP, this has begun to change. I now truly understand that there are infinite possibilities for my work and that I am the only thing stopping my art from going where it wants to go.I've learned this because I make new discoveries every day. We're constantly being pushed to play and try new things and playing is how you start to find some of those endless possibilities.So here are just some of the things I am learning as we move into week 5 of CVP and start working with a limited palette of red, yellow ochre, white and black.

• I LOVE red. This is a revelation to me. I had to dig around to find one tube of Cad Red Light that I have had forever because I generally don't buy it. The exercise this week called for a darker red, but since I didn't have one I cheated and used black to darken it. Now I plan to order lots of yummy red paint.
• I seem to be drawn to working in threes and creating pieces that compliment one another. So far we have been told to create 2 boards for each exercise but for some reason, I always paint 3 pictures that all fit together.
• I am happier when I am painting from my head rather than working from a real scene. There is a real shift that happens when I move into abstract work - I feel lighter, more free and more me.
• I enjoy writing my feelings onto the board during the early stages of the painting. I use pencil and the text is all painted over as I add additional layers, but the words become part of the painting's secret history and I know they are there.
• I like thick paint and bright, clean colours but in the past I have been too stingy with my paint and too impatient to clean my brushes properly. This can result in thin, streaky paint applications that I don't find pleasing.
• I enjoy the drama that black brings to a painting.
• I love putting light grey against a deep, rich red.

I'm also finding that you can make an amazing array of colours with just white, black, red, and yellow ochre. Here are two of the first set I worked on:And here are a couple more that I just started. Hard to believe, but these are the same 4 colours.It's very exciting to realize just how many possibilities there are. It makes me want to paint every chance I get. It's also exciting to realize that I have been holding myself back - because if I am the problem, all I need to do is get out of my own way!All this begs the question: if we limit our art by staying within our comfort zone, how do we limit our lives by doing the same thing?Click here to read all my posts about CVP.Update: CVP is about to launch again in May 2020. The best news is that you can try it for free by taking a free workshop. There are a lot of people who give away free stuff in order to sell something bigger but this is different - you really do get tons of stuff for free whether or not you ever take the course. The free workshop is coming up soon (starts Feb 14th 2020) so sign up HERE to take advantage of free learning (and get a special invite to a private Facebook group I am running with my Art Juice co-host Alice Sheridan JUST for the duration of the workshop).