Contrary to what some people may believe, creating  art is more about discipline, time and practice than it is about talent and inspiration. I have the privilege of having access to some amazing professors at the Savannah College of Art and Design who are guiding me as I desperately try to paint, learn and improve. It helps to borrow the eyes and minds of other artists as I complete my first full year of graduate school. The goal is to finish before I am 50. Hmmm....I am on track. Fingers crossed! Here is some of the work that I have produced during the past 3 weeks of summer study at SCAD.

Progress: On Top of My Head

Maintaining balance in life is key. Physical, psychological and emotional balance...moderation in most things,  is desirable. But of course this is also unrealistic and idealistic. At any given moment, added pressure and weight , the unforeseen and unexpected, threatens  to topple our steadiness and stability. So we readjust our stance. We shift and redistribute the weight and sometimes we change, trying once more to  keep centered and hold on. I believe the solution sometimes is to simplify, release and lessen the load. It takes strength to admit weakness and weary.

Here's my recent progress: On Top of My Head.

 

Change: On Top Of My Head

Life itself  is change. It is inevitable. We struggle to preserve and protect what is and what was. Our minds grow attached to the comfortable and familiar, the safe and the sound. I only know that for me, decades of holding on have left me in a place of fear, anxiety and discontent. I lay awake rationalizing my life and my choices, all of which have led to a lovely state of being....quiet, secure but very alone. "Get a life right?" "Quit the complaining!" "Have a grateful heart and stop the self centered babble!" I mentally scolded myself for years with these reprimands. But the gnawing desire to leave, to do more and be more, to find like minds in work and in my heart persists and paralyzes. So change is due. It is now. It is terrifying because those I love most, now know what plagues my heart and mind and they are waiting. My change will be theirs as well.

On Top of My Head is a series of paintings that I will continue to develop, inspired by my Child's Play work. Within them I explore the idea of self imposed mental clutter that creates an emotional and psychological weight .These burdens, both real and imagined, threaten to crush the spirit. I am not here to lecture or solve or reflect on how to make change. I do that with myself in every waking moment it seems. I just know that leaving means changing and changing requires unloading the heaviness. I can't run and fly with all of this extra weight. And now to decide...where the heck am I going...I believe post grad school, will take me to where my art and the art of others surrounds me daily, where my heart is understood.This requires   painting and more painting to get me where I want to be! (Oh and welding, I need to know how to weld !) x

On Top of My Head....some new images in process:

All images are copyrighted by Jude Harzer Fine Art and CRO Designs 2012

Child's Play

Simplicity is necessary this year in order to focus on refining ideas and producing a finished body of work that I intend to exhibit. Child's Play, On Top of My Head and other series of paintings are becoming inextricably connected as a cohesive unit of thought and art. Graduate school has helped me to consider more thoughtfully what the heck I'm trying to do here and why:) I am confident in the value of my work. I have a lot more to say. So this year I will make it matter and share it.
During my short hiatus from school, I struggled with a few new images.I continue to paint my way to my dreams and remind myself daily that the joy, the inspiration, the promise and hope, are in the process. I am awake so as not to miss it.
Here are a few recent explorations...all related to the Child's Play concept.

Child's Play: Awake Jude Harzer Fine Art 2012

detail Child's Play: Awake Jude Harzer Fine Art 2012

Child's Play: Wisdom Jude Harzer Fine Art 2012

Child's Play: In My Arms Jude Harzer Fine Art 2012

Jude Harzer | See.Me

A friend suggested that I submit my works to this international competition entitled: Artists Wanted: The Power of Self. This event celebrates the self portrait, which is often the most intimate and revealing subject matter that an artist creates. "See Me" as I paint my way to my dreams! Vote daily, 5 stars which means inspired, in support of my endeavors. It would be greatly appreciated. The winner has an opportunity to spend an entire year exclusively devoted to creation of their art! Check out my portfolio by clicking on the link below!
 With love and thanks! ~Jude~
 Jude Harzer | See.Me

“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.” ~ Oscar Wilde