Productivity

I had an interesting conversation at the coffee shop the other day about being productive, wanting to learn, and living life to the fullest. What's this have to do with art? Because of habits, rituals, and just good ole work ethics, we fill our days. When I cannot paint, guilt sneaks into my psyche. What do I do? I clean my brushes, water the plants, and weed the garden. Time flies by. Is this what I want? NO! At my age, I want time to slow, but, guilt keeps me moving.

Lately I've taken to just sitting, being in the moment, listening to the fountain, and watching this little white butterfly move around my courtyard, seemingly aimless. The straightest path is not always the quickest road to inspiration.
http://www.alfredcurrier.com/

Visit my studio July 18th and 19th

I'd like to extend an invitation to you to visit my studio this coming weekend, July 18th and 19th from 10AM to 6PM. This is part of the Skagit Artists studio tour and I will have lot's of new plein-air paintings as well as a few "impasto" works. Anne Schreivogl's studio will also be open with lots of "wacky whimsical work".


Our studio address is 1818 M Ave, Anacortes Washington. It is a short drive of 1 1/2 hours North of Seattle and 2 hours South of Vancouver British Columbia.
www.alfredcurrier.com

Summer crops

Tom Robbins once wrote in "Another Roadside Attraction" that the Skagit fields grow more than half the world's supply of cabbage seed. A closer figure upwards towards 90% would be a more accurate count in today's market.

Most of my paintings have depicted migrant farm workers picking tulips. I use the tulips in most of these paintings solely to exploit their color. Reality in the fields is much different. This delta soil, with virtually no industry upstream, hosts some of, if not the richest soil in the world. Strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, beets, cucumbers, cabbage, spinach, are just a few crops grown here for not only consumption but, also propagation.

Often, I will study a figure in several paintings before I let it go. This started when I moved here with a 15 year old, Maria, and her father. I painted those two and then later, Maria's husband, for over ten years. These two paintings shows the beginning of that process.
www.alfredcurrier.com