the Unstuck Diaries

hey man, nice site! originally came across it looking for some photos of uglow's paintings (site showed up in a google search). but i liked what i read and i'll keep checking back.

Glad you like it, I try to post what I'm working on most days. I like a lot of Uglow's work.

i veer between thinking he was a genius and just someone who overcame his artistic shortcomings in a very interesting way. i read a little biography of him and found it very interesting. i am currently reading a coldstream biography as well. what i find interesting about his painting is the decisive boldness to say that a whole area is essentially "the same" as in the same colour (for example the area below the buttock on the back thigh, or something) and it works. whereas any other painter, myself included, would just tweak away at it trying to round it out in tones.

i suppose a minor technical goal of mine would be to make things look simpler while not perfect or photorealistic.

i liked what you said about the vicious circle of good and bad drawing as well. i find that once every three weeks, i become paralysed with indecision when drawing, as in not knowing where to start and feeling like i've never drawn anything in my life, after three days or so of struggling and thinking about things in a new way, i learn something (by trying something or thinking in a way i haven't before) and it keeps me going to the next collapse. each time it happens, i seem to forget that it will go away.

Yes, I never know whether it is a good thing to be totally dedicated to one idea, like Uglow, or to try lots of different things. I like your idea that he was overcoming artistic shortcomings. I think I'm doing that by doing so many different things and not just sticking to one thing and mastering it.

The whole creative thing is a minefield really. Too much confidence and there's a danger of losing depth and integrity, too little confidence and there's a danger of not really letting go and exploring all the possibilities of the passion.