Monoprint Musings

Monoprints!

 I adore them. There's a lovely energy about them, and the marks and quality of line have something special going on.

But, I'm having a battle inside my own head (please tell me you do that, too....).

With a solo exhibition coming up, the self imposed pressure to have a wonderful body of fully realised, great pieces is becoming large. And, somewhere along the way, clarity and certainty have abandoned ship. I adore these prints, and have a strong urge to frame them as is. No more messing with them. Yet, is that "acceptable"? (Acceptable to whom? is a good follow up question.... Myself? Potential collectors? Potential critics?) The answer, I'm finding, is elusive.

Or, is just a little more attention an improvement, a detraction, or still not enough?

One thing that is certain... even more attention - at least of this kind - is definitely NOT the answer (I apologise. I would really like to sneak the above image from under my arm and just show you the quickest peek - it doesn't make my heart sing. At. All.)

So... nothing more than these delicious lines and marks?

Or, just a little more?

I'd really love to know what you think - my cowboy art critics are all busy with cows and cultivators, and the "inner critic" ate razor blades for breakfast! 

Perhaps the underlying issue is that while I love these as is, or with just a touch of colour, they were easy. Drop-dead, do-it-with-your-eyes-closed easy. Well, maybe not with your eyes closed. That might end in much more black gesso on the carpet, which is never a good thing (or, for that matter, an easy thing to clean up!) The question is possibly more along the lines of "If it's easy, is it art? Is it valid?" Which led me to remember a chapter I read in Danielle la Porte's book The Fire Starter Sessions... which started with the question "What would your life be like if you did only what was easy?" and went on to discuss Quality Easy as opposed to Cheap easy. 

"The path of least resistance isn't about short-cuts  cutting corners, or being clever. And  it's certainly not about making mediocrity acceptable. It's about optimising the truth.It's about casting your seeds on the most fertile soil for your best chances of success."

Definitely more rumination required.