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
For myself and I expect for many other artists painting without a brush or imagining a painting is often the first step in developing a new work. Artists typically have the ability to visualize a work prior to actual painting. This is not done casually such as in random day-dreaming but is an actual process itself. It might be considered a type of visual meditation when a painting is worked out mentally, in brief and abbreviated pictures. It is rare to imagine an entire piece .
This requires some alone time which we might call imagination. For me it is helpful to be in the studio and seeing the blank canvas or panel. This is however not necessary. One could be at the beach, or sitting under a shade tree or having lunch and even driving. It is helpful of course to block out other thoughts which come in as distractions. This is perhaps why I find Tolle’s insights especially helpful. It is necessary to focus ones’ thoughts on the painting at hand and to keep working it out mentally. I might have a cerulean blue coming down top to bottom in a ragged pattern, then days later imagine that same pattern in pale burnt sienna. Figures, shapes can be placed about mentally. There is a certain mental construct that can occur not unlike an architect who is trying to mentally design a facade. There are many things that can be worked out before a pencil or brush is applied. Distinct benefits can come from this exercise, but clearly the most obvious is less wasting of time and going about a painting with more clarity and definition.
As an abstract painting it is always necessary to allow a painting to maturate quite on its own, and it will always do so if we allow it. We might call this the second process, where the first is the original, mental and visualized painting which was partially established before any pigment was applied. Sometimes I only begin with a slight emphasis, a certain shape and sometimes with only a sense or feeling. Even with effort, with dedicated time for meditation it is common to hold only a very partial image. But though slight and ellusive this represents the important first kernel of a painting, and as such should be monitored. I try to keep a sketch book handy to capture these fleeting images as they serve as reminders of that visual experience.