Imaginings

Been off to the Smokies for some family R&R which was wonderful.  However it was particularly gratifying to get back into the studio yesterday and go a little crazy painting.  In the process I use, the first layer is the loosest, most free, and really just serves as a jumping off point.  In other words, I really don’t know where most of what I started yesterday will end up.

That’s where imagining comes into play.  There is some thought that goes into selecting the palette, the size of canvas, etc, but the joy of my process comes when staring (some would say blankly) at a canvas with the first layer of paint already applied.  As an abstract painter, this is when I will see images emerge, have a feeling evoked, or see a truth represented thus giving me a path to follow.  Sometimes I just begin to paint and allow the piece to take me on a journey, imagining what it will become as I develop this or that area.

There is a misconception that suggests that as artists we “think up” our art,  like grabbing images or ideas out of the air.  I would suggest that artists carry a deep reservoir of creative thought, ideas, and images.  As I sit at the easel I reach down into that reservoir, stir the waters of creativvity, and pull out that which fits the painting I’m working on.  I do my best work when my mind gets out of the  way and I allow the canvas to communicate directly to my creative spirit.

Which means I may not be aware of you if you are quietly looking over my shoulder or I may have a dazed look on my face when I am.  Take no offense.  I’ve been off on a journey of the imagination; it can take a moment to return.