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How come?
MY RELATIONSHIP TO DRAWING AND PAINTING
There is nothing special really. As a kid, learned drawing along with the other skills one learns as a kid, but I was better than average at it, so I practiced more than average. My eldest brother (10 years my senior) was very good at it, I thought, but I could not emulate the "precision and fluidity of his lines". Later on, in my adult life, I tried my hands at it at major crossroads in my adult life, which coincided with me turning 30, and 50. I don't remember much of my 30's attempts, except two large reproductions of paintings by a Tunisian painter named Megdiche, that my nephew insisted on keeping in his living room. The latest 'wave' started in 2011, when my better half, an artist in her own right, offered me a 20 $ watercolour starter kit purchased from Costco. Wow! talk about a gift that kept giving! Thank you A, for letting me in your turf!
WHY AN ONLINE 'EXHIBIT'
Let me first start by saying that reason number one, is that none of the material is worth gallery space, no matter how modest. I also don't like exposing my work in my surroundings, i.e. home or office, among other things, because I don't necessarily want everyone who walks into our home or my office to know what I do in my free time, or to start a conversation about it. In part because I don't think it is that good, and In part because I don't want to create expectations that I may not be able to meet; I have enough expectations in my professional life, so I will keep this one fun. I would like to argue that I am not seeking recognition, but it is hard to expose anything, regardless of medium, and pretend not seeking recognition. At a basic level, this is simply a store/repository of the paintings I made, which has the advantage of not being degradable: the colours don't fade with the sun, and the paper does not wrinkle. I also add some thoughts to the actual paintings, either about the subject matter, or about the painting technique used--or attempted.
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So think of it as the public part of a diary--if such a thing exists. It is only mildly interesting for family and friends, but utterly uninteresting to perfect strangers.
DO I HAVE A STYLE?
If one defines a style as a set of aesthetic choices made consciously or unconsciously. in a recurrent fashion, then I don't have a style. The keywords here are 'aesthetic' and 'choices'. You may find a 'signature' in what is exposed, but it is often an expression of my limitations, more than an aesthetic choice. If I were to characterize my 'style', I would call it 'watercolour miniaturist' (if you haven't read "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk, read it!). Why miniaturist? I draw/paint mostly from pictures, and I have natural tendency to try to reproduce pictures in their most minute details, unless I make a conscious effort to refrain from doing that. I was telling a friend recently then I am easing myself into impressionism--a mere 150 years later :-). My paintings are not watercolours, in the traditional sense. Part of my struggles have to do with trying to make watercolour work like acrylic. I also tend to be risk averse, in part because I have little time to spare for painting, and so I rarely give myself the chance to try something new and run the risk of making the painting unsalvageable.
