Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
May 20, 2008
C.S. Lewis once said that in order to make progress in any matter sometimes the most productive way is to begin over. I have found that once I am on a pathway and have a fundemental set of protocols (in use and that work) I have a hard time breaking out and doing anything truly creative.
Instead I continue to pursue the same methods with little change in the outcomes. I paint alot of nice pictures but nothing truly great. I find myself stuck!
A couple of dozen years ago I took some lessons and the painter I was studying with had me begin with the color wheel. I didn,t understand at the time but this was to give me a fresh start. It was to give me another chance to begin again from the start and to open new opportunties to growth and creativity.
It seems to be a painterly approach to contemplation of the art. I think now that the more times you start over the more chance you have to create something truly new that has the potential to be a Forever Painting. (I now do a new color wheel once a week!)
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
May 18, 2008
A painting that shows us, or makes us feel, more of what the world is like is one that can be considered forever. It is the difference between surface representation and essence.
The world is much more complex and interesting than it may appear. If we are only aware of what is represented by the obvious we will never be able to appreciate the complexity and interconnectiveness/ interdependent nature of all of existance.
A 'Forever Painting' seeks to take us below the surface and to show the richness of the relationahips and complexities of our world. This is true of abstract as well as representational painting.
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
Apr 20, 2008
Tiepolo, the great painter of ceilings, had ideas that point the way for others of us in our pursuit of great paintings. Here are some of them.
Creating a world beyond common experience
Vaghezza - a subtle beauty
Great Spectacles unfolding in light
vast aerial spaces
Grandiosity, compositional richness
A labrynth of images
To Paint a World
Create great spaces!
Show the mind far more things than it hoped to see
These are just some of the ideas that I use to get started when
composing a new painting. I think they help to go beyond the normal
boundaries of my everyday thought processes and the patterns of
rendering that are comfortable to my ego.
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
Apr 16, 2008
C.S.Lewis tells us that if we are on the wrong track that the quickest and most successful way forward to is to go back to the beginning and start over. I think that this holds true for most artists who are seeking what has been called the 'Innocence of the Eye'. The idea is to see again as if for the first time without prejudice or conditioned thoughts and processes. It is these processes that we painters have to avoid if we are to see and depict something that is more truthful and less ordinary. It is also one of the most difficult objectives before us.
I know that my greatest temptation is to resort to known or previously successful pathways to construction of the paintings and depiction of the subjects or ideas. While this often leads to 'nice' or 'good' paintings they always seem to fall short of the original vision that I had before execution. They seem to get watered down the further I go into the painting as I seek not to render from the heart of the vision but from the pattern of the intellect.
I have found that the best way for me to avoid this is not to spend too much time (if any) in the laying out of the painting on the watercolor paper. I now try to go directly(as directly as possbile!) from the vision to painting process. I have found that a drawing with any detail tends to 'contain' and 'restrain' the vision. I therefore try to launch directly into the painting process on the blank paper with only the vision in my mind before me. This is a similar process to one that I have developed for the use of my consulting clients in the development of new creative approaches to solving probelms and developing new opportunties. The interesting thing to me is the way that I feel when I am in this process as opposed to the more traditional one. In the new process I feel free, open and energized. It is exiting and reminds me more of when I was finger painting in grade school. Maybe this is the best way to become innocent again!
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