What’s Your Batting Average?
October 24, 2009
I was shuffling some paintings around my studio yesterday deciding which ones to send where when it occurred to me that I paint a lot of boat pictures. I said to my wife, “I might be a maritime artist.” She remarked, “Ya think!!!?” It was like one of those, “You might be a redneck if….” jokes. “You might be a maritime artist if 3 out of 5 paintings have a boat in it.” That’s me. Is that you? If it is you may remember that last week I teased you by promising to reveal the location of my new marine painter’s paradise. It’s a little place called Green Cove Springs, Fl. It’s in Clay County along highway 16 on the western shore of the St. John’s River. There are several boat and ship yards with public access roads. It’s great for painters and photographers. Here a some pics I took there. Believe me these only scratch the surface. There are numerous ships, tugs and pleasure craft, both in and out of the water, in various states of repair (or disrepair as the case may be).
This is the time of year when the Florida weather spawns several plein air painting events. These events are fun for a variety of reasons. I like to participate in them and plan to do a couple of posts on tips for paint out participants. I haven’t abandoned the “Form Principle” thread. I just want to take a detour.
Paint Outs require the artist to produce new works in a short period of time and exhibit them for sale. By their very nature, these events, bring the concept of “batting average” into the minds of artists. By “batting average” I mean the number of good plein air paintings relative to the number of starts. When I paint outdoors at home my batting average is low. Maybe 1 in 6 starts turns out to be something. That’s because I am focused on study. I try new things, attempt different designs and do color studies. I’m not trying to come up with a finished paintings. If I think a composition has potential I go back to that spot and develop the idea. In paintouts there is little time to dither around with ideas. I want to hit for a high average. So I stick to subject matter I know and love. Boats, water, clouds and trees.
There is still the possibility of painting a dog (figuratively speaking). Each dog increases the pressure to produce a good one. Consecutive dogs hurt momentum and effect the pocket book on opening night. It’s better to avoid them at all costs. Which begs the question, “How do I do that?”.
Years ago I was friends with a guy, who grew up with another guy, who became a PGA Tour Professional. My friend got us free tickets and clubhouse passes to a lot of the Florida golf tournaments. Sometimes we ate at restaurants with this professional golfer, his wife and caddie. I remember having lunch during a rainout after the pro had played poorly. He started talking about his struggles. He was frustrated. In a moment of clarity he said, “I have been so focused on results that I have gotten completely out of rhythm. Tomorrow I’m going to focus on the process.” When play resumed the next day this golfer had a great round and subsequently played several consecutive good tournaments.
I had a conversation on this subject with a former “Mini Tour” player just a few weeks ago. He said he plays his best golf when he is focused on the process instead of the results.
The concept applies to plein air painting, too. Probably all painting for that matter. I know artists who say that they sometimes get so excited about a painting’s potential that they have to stop working on it. Finding yourself in that circumstance is not a good thing. That means you are focused on results rather than process. I’ll talk about process in my next post.
This week I will participate in the Crescent Beach Paint Out in Crescent Beach, Fl. That’s in the St. Augustine area. I hope to see you at the opening which is on Halloween. I’ll be the guy dressed as the short, bald, artist.
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Yep, I always enjoy your essays and this one is no exception. I’ll ry to remember to focus on the process when I’m experiencing “fear of failure” at a paint-out.