Back to the Beginning
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!)
