Inspiration Fridays! Craft vs. Intuition
Craft vs. Intuition
Is the real you coming through in your paintings?
“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance” -ARISTOTLE
I’ve seen a lot of art throughout my life. There have been a few pieces that rocked me to my very core. Some paintings feel like they are exploding with energy. All that I can do is stand there and look… slack-jawed… speechless. These paintings are ineffable. Attempting to substitute language as an expression is to diminish the experience of the piece.
There have also been paintings that hardly slowed my step, or made me blink. Historical road signs, dried paint on a board when viewed without the context of a museum’s stamp of approval. Given some context, I can appreciate the innovation, but just being a bit different is not enough to inspire awe.
Why such polarized reactions??
Clifford Wilton and I shared a studio for 10 years. His work and influence profoundly affected the way I paint today.
What is it that inspires us to fall in love with a painting?
Connecting our craft with our intuition brings emotion to our work and creates a tangible shift in what we (and others) see. There is so much more to a painting than replicating what is in front of us, but in order to move beyond the surface, we need first to make ourselves present. It’s then that we can begin to communicate the intensity and richness of our painting.
When we are present, our work has clarity and intention, our brushstrokes are purposeful, our colors can stay clean and unmuddied, and the composition remains dynamic and exciting from the beginning of the painting to the end. Focusing on what lights us up allows us to throw out some of the tired tropes and assumptions around what makes something beautiful. Does that heavy black line feel right? Leave it! There is beauty in everything. What are we trying to express with this painting? How can we best convey that feeling?
I have seen a radical shift in the direction of my art over the last decade. The merging of abstraction with representationalism has brought a fresh emotion and spontaneity to my work that often used to elude me. Responding not only to the subject but to the uniqueness of my abstracted surface has transformed my process. There is energy in this trinity, (the painter, the subject, and the abstracted surface) that is palpable and inspiring.
Have you painted something with the intention of expressing how it feels to you? How different was this experience from painting something in order to “get it right”? I challenge you to give it a go this week and see what you discover.