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Ever been to the circus when the trapezes artist comes out and does those spectacular tricks high above the ground, with no net? Or what about the tightrope walker, the cable stretched across a canyon or stretched from one sky scraper to the next with a busy street below, the walker then crosses the cable with no net? Scary huh? I think so. I couldn't do either of those things even with a net, not now, maybe the trapeze stuff when I was much younger, more bendable and not nearly as smart as I am now. Still, even back then in my younger days a net would have been nice. You ever paint without a net?

Seems anymore now that painting without a net is how I create my most successful paintings. It is not as scary as walking a tightrope without a net but it is kind of exciting. The net I am referring to in regards to my painting is an initial drawing, that blueprint of sorts that we draw on our canvas or paper before we touch the surface with paint. The drawing helps us to know where the objects will be, it tells us if the composition is right and helps to give us a feeling of security in regards to the possible success of the painting. The drawback, excuse the pun, to drawing first on your surpport is that it can be treated as the lines in a coloring book, we adhere to closely to what we drew initially and it can close the door to chance. 'Chance' being those things that happen by accident, things that can be very helpful to make a painting more interesting if we use it correctly. I guess that is why I have stopped for the most part in doing a drawing on my support. Now I just like to dive right in.

Now like the trapeze artist I have had practice. No one, at least I hope no one, is going to walk across a thin cable high in the air without practice, especially without a net to fall safely into. I do quick paintings or sketches from the subject (if I'm using pastels or watercolors I seldom use any drawing for these either), these are studies, a way to become more familiar with the subject. Either on site or back in the studio I may do a few more preliminaries, but when it comes time to do the 'Studio Painting' I put aside all those preliminary works and from memory start right in, no drawing on the paper first. I admit sometimes just before I start I think I should do a drawing, I'm a bit anxious, afraid it might all become a big mess, I just might fall off that tightrope. And boy do I fall, a lot, but it's worth it when the painting works, when it just seems to emerge from the initial mess of watercolor and pastel and becomes something. Whew, made it! That's how I feel when it works.

Starting a painting without a preliminary drawing is scary, you have to have a strong will, a hearty disposition, stanima and a great tolerance to pain. No, actually you just need to be willing to try it. To be willing to fail. But then even with a preliminary drawing failure is standing right at our shoulder, isn't it? At the same time, as I stand before a blank white surface ready to apply paint in a haphazard sort of way, making what I call a 'good mess' and from this mess pull out the image my mind sees, well it's exciting. I'm anxious, but in a good way, sometimes I even notice I'm breathing a bit heavier, but I calm myself, then jump in head first. Like diving into a clear lake, it's cold at first, but when you get out of the water it's exhilarating. So if you feel like you're in slump, like what you have been doing has lost it excitement, or maybe you just want to try something new, give it a try. No drawing next time, no net.