I make these encaustic paintings outside in the summer. This is the first one from this year. I also made a video showing and explaining the process which documents the making of this piece. I'll post the link to that video next.

“The light touch is often the strongest gesture of all.” -Helen Frankenthaler

On location today. How to do almost nothing - For lazy bastards everywhere. Written and directed by Harry Stooshinoff

“Matisse remained remarkably lucid, even lyrical, to the end. When asked shortly before he died whether there was anything he wanted, he replied: ‘A bicycle and a patch of blue sky’. -Michael Peppiatt

“Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” -Rainer Maria Rilke

On location today. These small acrylics are done with a slightly different setup, an even more portable setup than I'm used to. So clean up and transport are even easier. That likely means I'll be going out even more often to do these small acrylics.

“Darby, love, when you go for a walk remember to tell things you love them out loud: trees, clouds, fire hydrants. Tell all the things you love them.” -Darby Hudson’s mom

Published on April 1....always free to read. harrystooshinoff.substack.com

Whenever you feel your energy for painting waning, even a bit, alter the method or procedure slightly….it’ll freshen you. The painter makes the rules. That is as much the job as the laying on of materials to make the painting.

Oftentimes a little change, to material, substrate, size, or approach jolts you just enough to achieve surprise again. There are lots of things that will encourage surprise. But the whole enterprise is really about courting surprise at every turn.

Now that spring has come and most of the snow is gone, it’s easier to make these drawings on site because the field entrances are clear for parking. It’s nice to be tucked away safely when I make these. The ‘feel’ of the parking spot is actually the first thing I pay attention to.

At a certain point in your development as a painter, things in general become easier, mostly because you learn to get out of your own way.

These spots are very close by, and I paint them many times, but they always lead to new things.

You really don’t know what you’re going to get…it can be a total surprise. And that’s why it’s important to keep working.

Sometimes the best question is not how much can I do....but how little can I do?

I wish to make everything…..effortless.

Let your paintings simply run parallel to your life…they are there, and you are there. Avoid over-complicating.

Yep…that’s pretty much how I do it. All my things on substack are free to read. harrystooshinoff.substack.com

It’s not necessary or helpful to worry or fuss about your art. And it’s uncertain how much control we really have. You have control over how often and in what condition you show up for work, and that is all the control you need.

I will sometimes be surprised by passages in my painting, where I was my playful little self, like a 5 year old with a toy truck in the weeds.

In deep winter freezing cold and consecutive snow storms cause us to dream of warmer days, but in a summer heatwave a day like this would seem so welcome. It’s best to just fully notice each day.

I’ll often think of a painting not as a work of art, but just as a series of gestures, or actions. First this, then that. One thing calls for another and it’s interesting to see how they connect together. Thinking this way removes any performance anxiety from the activity.

In the darkest days, there is always hope. Never give up.

“Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work.” ― Gustave Flaubert

A landscape motif that moves me will always have a certain geometry, a set of shapes, lines, angles, that click together in a specific way.

Walter loved to fish at every chance he got, whenever he was not working. He'd hook up his boat and trailer to his work truck and off he'd go. He seemed a bit lonely and wanting of fishing companions so when I worked for him, he'd invite me along to the lake where we'd catch pickerel and pike.

How varied and contrary we are, as we balance predictability and adventure. I want my house to be safe, ordered, and unchanged…as I left it, day to day. But I don’t want today’s pictures to look like yesterday’s. In fact, if they do, I will stop making them.

I'm happy to make a small contribution....rather than no contribution at all.

It's a big, NOISY world.....so I make small, quiet paintings....

“Sure you do. Everyone wants to play. They’re just afraid of looking stupid. But you know what’s stupid? Not trying. So just…try.” ― Victoria Scott, The Collector

The small things are fascinating to me because they encourage an almost completely automatic response to suggesting the subject. Things are discovered this way, without trying, and the surprises often seem more pleasing.

These acrylics on paper are later laid onto small panels; they become little fridge magnets. It often happens that I’ll make 3 in a day, usually in one session. I’ll be cutting and preparing more panels later today. It takes longer to make the panels that it takes to make the paintings.

Today's afternoon work. It’s interesting how even a very vague approximation of a visual effect is enough to convey an observed aspect, proof that some times intention is more important than precision, that suggestion is more suitable than description.

Published today, harrystooshinoff.substack.com Always free to read.

It is very mysterious how a picture comes together. It can only be planned in the most basic way…and the rest is entirely unpredictable. This is why it’s so important to be watchful and constantly engage in the making process repeatedly, seemingly forever. The value comes only because of the mystery

The problems involved in making a painting are never separate from the process. You cannot think yourself through a painting. There is a call and response that happens once the paint is moving. At the best of times, this is almost automatic.......it happens best when you forget yourself.

About process. This is the 3rd piece in 3 days that is on 8 × 10 panel. So it’s very likely tomorrow’s piece will be on different sized panel, or paper. I make small changes to process very often, and on purpose, to break stride, and to encourage surprise.

“All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quiet in a room alone.“ -Blaise Pascal

Lost Dog Hill, January. Sometimes it’s helpful to wait just a bit before you go into a painting session. It doesn’t have to be a 9-5 grind. Waiting a little while can increase the anticipation and excitement. Careful though….waiting too long becomes procrastination….not helpful.

When I am considering which aspects of the landscape to paint, the mood of the scene has to hit me quickly like a shock. Then the parts of the motif have to fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. There’s a bias towards a certain kind of structure. The world is built of interlocking shapes.

I've been making a lot of these while my ankle has been broken, but I've used up my panels. Pretty soon I hope to lose the crutches which means I should be able to get downstairs to cut, sand, and paint more of these small panels.

When we sell so much of our time to the highest bidder….what little things can we do to say ‘this life is mine’?

You shouldn’t know in advance too much about how you will make a painting, the marks you will make, how the thing will evolve. The more surprising it can be to you, while maintaining a charge, the more deep will be your involvement now and over time.

I try to make something every day. When times are busy I do these small ones that become magnets, and they often lead into a bigger one right after. Making something will always lead your thoughts in a productive direction. And when you make you are always very aware that your bit of effort counted.

When I cut these small masonite panels I do it with a blade and metal ruler. I make then in batches of 12, cutting, sanding, and painting them white a number of times. I have only 4 left from the current batch and I won’t be able to cut more until my foot heals. I'll do works on paper til then.

“How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow? I must have a dark side also if I am to be whole.” -C. G. Jung

East Passage. A small acrylic painting on Strathmore paper laid onto panel. Now a fridge magnet at paintbox.etsy.com

A few small pieces made tonight which I'll turn into fridge magnets tomorrow.

“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.” — Marcus Aurelius