Dissatisfaction

Dissatisfaction comes in waves. That's been my experience at least. You'll wake up one day and find it everywhere: in your car, your government, your wardrobe, your breakfast cereal, your job, etc, etc, ad nauseum. We all feel this way from time to time. When the wave comes it dominates your field of vision. I think it's the subconscious' way telling you that you need to make a change in your life or that you've lost track of your desired direction. Dissatisfied people are the ones the effect change on themselves and the world around them... if they're inclined to answer the call. The rest let it pass... push it down... look in the mirror and shrug... cling to the safety of a comfortable, quiet existance. "Oh well..." is the battle cry of successive generations of our species.

If you can't tell I've been ruminating. It's good tho. To avoid going on a rant I'll say that while I don't currently feel the wave upon me I have recently and have been working on making the kind of changes that will effect the course of my existence. I've started spending my mornings saying "Thank You" for everything I can think of. While this may sound a little like "The Secret" it isn't. I'm merely trying to start my day with a reminder of why I do what I do. It helps put things in perspective and helps keep me thinking about ways to move forward. It's the dissatisfaction that keeps me acting upon those thoughts.

That being said I've started submitting my work to some galleries and have already received one favorable response. I'm finally acting on my desire to teach. Teaching was one of the things I had in mind when I started on at UNI. Sadly I don't have the credentials to teach at a university or in a public school (totally my own fault), but I have the experience which is, to me, far more important than a piece of paper I paid to get. I'm putting together a couple of class proposals for the Des Moines Social Club. I'd love to teach oil painting, but drawing may be a better way to start. It's less messy, less expensive, and requires less hardware (ie: easels, solvents, cleaning facilities). Plus I think people should be well-grounded in drawing basics before they get involved in painting. I'm a little traditional in that sense, but I think a good artist needs a good foundation. Perhaps in the process of working my way though this I can think of a way to make a course in painting work.

Lastly I've been rethinking the direction of my work. I've posted my thoughts on this subject before. I feel like I'm turning a corner in what I want to say with my paintings. I've touched on some of these ideas in other ways in other works, but I'm taking new directions in terms of composition, use of color, and overall tone. I've been getting back to my roots looking to artists I haven't thought about in a while like Donald Sultan, Alberto Giacometti and Wolf Kahn.

Have you been feeling the pang of dissatisfaction in your own life? If so what are you doing about it?

Until next time


Cheers,

R