Latest posts by michael wilson (see all)
- JORDAN RIVER - February 5, 2019
- Inspired Art - August 2, 2018
- Waiting for Inspiration - July 31, 2018
- The Bridge between Painting and Photography - July 31, 2018
What can be more fundamental in any artistic endeavor than developing concepts? This represents the beginning, the essential kernel that spawns the artistic project. However I feel that artists are stymied when their concept (however it is conceived) is not fully developed, either emotionally or visually in the case of the visual painter. All of my articles are essentially about the visual painter as artist but it is quite easy to see how many of these written constructions also relate to the other arts such as music, dance and sculpture. We begin with a concept and then the process begins with developing those concepts.
In my own case I rarely am fortunate enough to begin a painting with a fully developed concept or idea. There is a germ, a spark, a feeling but this is often all we can go with. We have to rely on that to begin. We have to believe that this small spark of an idea can lead us into a finished product, a painting. The process of developing a concept is however quite different than the actual process of completing a painting which is I think, often misunderstood in the art world. Gerhardt Richter has a very large, expansive studio. His process is to take a ‘so-called’ finished painting and bring it physically in to another room. This room is uniquely un-cluttered and separated from where the painting had been conceived. In the entirely new environment Richter will study the painting on and off for sometimes several weeks. He studies it to ascertain how technically this painting should be completed, what nuances should be added, what tones need adjusting, if the painting ‘works’. Most of us do not have the space or opportunity to remove our painting in to an entirely different environment for study. The point is that the initial thrust of the painting strives to attain the concept. The second part of the work is done by technically bringing the painting to its full completion. Shapes and forms may have been articulated but in the second part of the painting’s development, those shapes and forms should be carefully delineated and the brushwork refined. 
This refinement is noticeable in Kandinsky’s work. Each shape is technically refined and beautifully rendered. In the developing concept this would have been impossible…it is enough to get the concept down in terms of location, design and coloring. The second part of the process is necessary to bring the painting to its fullfillment. In my own experience this is best done by studying it a week or two after the painting had been initially developed. It is very rare when I find a painting that does not need further attention. Elements inevitably need modulating. Perhaps the best example might be the sculptor who works with the chisel to establish the basic shape of the form. He or she gets it quite close to the concept or idea. After that, however begins the long, tedious work of sanding and refining the various shapes. Without this final attention the work is not truly ready, not truly finished.