A Change Going Come...Walking in the light

I've been working for months - if only primarily in my head - on a theme of night or early morning images. I have other ideas in mind and on sketch pads, but as far as my preferred media, I've been working on these dark images. Many observations were made, lessons learned and images gathered. One lesson learned is there is always light, though it may not be the type we're accustomed to or comfortable with. Wake in the middle of the night, but rather than flipping on lights, leave them off. Most of us are comfortable enough in our living space to walk in the darkness. Find a chair, anywhere in your place. Sit and observe. Before you know it, you'll notice you can distinguish between the wall and a table or 'discern' an object on the floor ("kids, always leaving their socks lying around!). That's been the world I've captured for a while.

I'm certain I'll continue drawing and painting these themes; I still have a few paintings to do before I call it a done deal, but the image included here came just as many of the others do: in one of the moments when I'm dozing, I saw this image. It is a forest or a path thick with trees and foliage. The concept seems to be a place where most of us find a sense of discomfort. Others have a certain sense of exhilaration in nature. But most of us don't notice the play of lights and dark, filtering between the tree limbs. We don't notice the tones as sunlight mingles with earth tones on the road ahead of us, or beside us.

I think I'll be busy with images where there are highlights and judging by the inspiration I have, there will be a great deal. By the way, this is another image I work on for about 15 minutes a day (thanks, Alyson Stanfield for confirming my afternoon breaks!); it just so happens I took a day away from the daily grind and decided to spend time on this today. check www.flickr.com/photos/hudsongallery/ for the updated image. This is also a move toward working in daylight; hopefully I don't lose the edge of night. More to come...

What do you do on Day 3?

Since late April of last year, I've:

• Finished a second year of a Master's program for Counseling
• Begin painting
• Begin drawing
• Posted photos on my Facebook account
• Created a Flicker account
• Begin putting images out there
• Labeling and describing the images
• Created a blog (kind of fell off the regularity wagon on this one)
• Created a Twitter account
• Created a website
• Working on a monthly newsletter

I forget to mention, I sold a painting. But in the grand scheme of things, everything I do seems like day 3 of a very long journey. No discouragement or anxiety, just an acknowledgement that I have a great deal of work to do. 

I've said it before, work is good, especially when it's work you love. I've spent the last three weeks developing enough content to post to a website, then late nights and a long weekend wrangling files between my computer and the hosting company. And finally the site could be clearly seen. So many times, I wanted to call an 'expert.' But I kept reminding myself: "this is my work. And every detail I learn to do myself, the greater my help to myself."

Somewhere in the future, it's my hope that I am known by my art. I would like to have a following that allows me to rely solely on the business I create. I want to have my days (and nights if I desire) available to work as I see fit. Each day I do the work, each time I exercise my ability to "do the work," tossing aside exhaustion and frustration and pressing forward.

The day will come when I will rely on others to manage the business, but until then, I will struggle to establish my image and make Eddie L. Hudson, Gallery Hudson, Hudson Gallery and His Words, synonymous with creativity and light.

Just "Doing" it

At a moment (Ray Charles playing in the background) I'm doing it. I'm painting, the thing I say I was brought into the world to do. Last night, the night before and for the last two weeks, fear had my hands and mind locked. You know, I can see how artists, musicians, writers and other creatives end up dying of an overdose. There's a feeling that comes over me, a sense of existing in a world beyond this mundane existence of dinner, money and heartache.

So today, I shut off the television, put down the games, placed paint on the palette, picked up the brush and went at it. The corner of the basement I work in is cold (gotta love a Chicago winter), but until I stopped to reflect on the moment, I didn't notice. Between the work, the process, and flow of energy, personal comfort didn't matter. All that mattered was the doing it. My constant prayer is that the only concerns are the process and those effected by the work.

Into the Water

A person can spend a great deal of time on the 'shores' of life; playing, pretending they are living life. We pretend the world is a dangerous place to be, that it is a huge evil machine, teeth prepared to bear down and destroy us. All this while enjoying comforts that matured in the last 100 years or so. We dream and scheme, of a life richer and worth living, but we remain distant from it, blaming the big scarey monster for blocking our way. We never take a moment to dip our big toe in an adventure; we do our best to ensure our children learn to be as afraid as we are.

But one has to go beyond the shoreline of life. Whether you wade into the water, run into it or dive into the wake, it's time to leave the safety and miserable comfort we've come to know. It's time to dive into the dreams we keep to ourselves. The dreams don't need shelter or safety, because in them is the wonder of miracles, of life lived boldly. Our dreams contain the matter of vibrant living and lives that connect us all. Yes, your dream contains the stuff that makes this world seem like a world of wonder and love.

The "Be-Working" Hour

Way back in the day, I would be up at this time of the morning (2:00 am), painting or drawing, trying to finish something for a class the next day. "No-doz," tea; trying to stay awake, and nothing worked at the time. If only I had known about lighting a fire in the belly...

So it's 2009, and I'm wide awake and because I need to be at a job in the morning, I need medicine to force sleep. I'll close my eyes in a bit, and images will flash across my mind, frozen in a moment, challenging me to remember - or better yet, get up and put them on paper - to paint, draw and otherwise. This is my working hour, where my energy seems to ramp up with the words I write as well as the images I work on. It's funny; when age and sensibility tells me to get a good night's sleep, I'm willing to stay awake and work. When I'm sitting at the desk during the day, I'm thinking about drawings and paintings, detailing the colors I would like to use. This hour, this time, is the true bewitching - I mean 'be-working hour!'

Better Go to bed ~ Cat Naps

I'm finding this to be true: more people have insomnia than is talked about. I hesitate to say "suffer from," because for some - like me - it's a welcome change from the noise of the day, the pull of several tasks at once and allows me to work in solitude. Mind you, with that being said, there are days when I long for my college days. I've always been the person who could doze at a heartbeat, sitting in lecture halls or in the library, asleep. I would ride the train to and from school, catching naps in between stops, not really sleeping but in a state of 40-winks-between-Clinton-and-Halsted (you have to live in Chicago to know about that!) way.

I wasn't surprised when I begin a graduate program in 2008, when I would come home from work, study a bit, sleep a bit and spend half the night working on a paper or studying. And though I had a full 8 hour work day ahead of me, I fell into a pattern of sleeping when I could, dozing when I could, and napping at lunch.

I don't mind, I think it's the 'big cat' nature of mine that allows me to be up a few hours in the middle of the night. It's peaceful, relaxing and empowering at the same time. But there's always time for a nap! Nighty-night all!

Beginning Fall for Francene

I woke at 3:00 this morning, slightly intentionally. I had to start this picture. I'm laying the groundwork by starting off with a water color sky. A few hours later - almost another day beginning in a minute - and I want deeper color to represent the sky. Next will come the leaves.

If you're on Facebook and haven't seen it yet, I've set up a fan page for my gallery. Who knows? Someday I may be hosting other artists! Check it out: Hudson Gallery - The World of Art by Eddie L Hudson