The Numerical Value Of Enough Already

by Cooper on 1/17/2010 6:48:32 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa, where this evening, I am typing with blue fingers. And it's not paint. We finished the kitchen tile project today! big

! The grout is just this side of navy blue, and while I'm sure the experts don't get any on their hands at all, I seem to grout much more efficiently with fingers than the appropriate tools. Hence, I will be grout blue for a little span of time. It really is a lovely color.

But. Let's venture back to the arena of THE book one more time. Conversations In Paint, Charles Dunn. I have actually finally finished reading it. Apparently it is also time to start back through as what I wanted to share with you today, I can't seem to find at the moment. And of course, I have lost the all important statistic: The Numerical Value.

Somewhere in Conversations In Paint, Charles uses a quote by some probably famous person about the appropriate number of thumbnail sketches for a painting. Didn't Matisse use 21? And VanGogh 7? Well, Mr Dunn didn't quote either of them, so a different number entirely was his solution to The Numerical Value Of Enough Already.

This past week I saw something I thought needed painted. Amazingly enough I had my sketchbook and there was lead in the pencil. What a good start. But it got better. People sitting kind of still! I had time to do two fairly detailed sketches. Zhong! And then a window of opportunity to actually start the painting, what a roll I was on. But first, in fine form, the thumbnail sketches. And I made five. Yes, five. Number two was the perfect one, why should I go any further?

Aaah, the armchair quarterback. The back seat driver. Hind sight is 20/20. I just took the canvas off of it's stretcher and put it on a smaller one. Is that even legal?---I mean when it already has quite a bit of paint on it? Possibly if I'd gone for thumbnails number six and seven, I'd have seen the light?

---here's the critter, slightly smaller than originally planned, but more to the point, I think. The poor guy in back seems to have dislocated his shoulder, which will require some of my attention tomorrow, but you get the point.

However, regarding The Numerical Value Of Enough Already, if anyone happens to know the exact figure there, please drop by and let me know. Thanks!

Later, Cooper