Oil painting – a direct medium, may sound like an odd title but is in fact a very distinctive truism in the art world. We often hear how sad to read the book, that it would be so much better to see someone live, that the words don’t do justice to the message – to the essence of the message. Well, in the world of painting in oils there is not such a restriction. The medium allows for full unexonerated expression, limited only by one’s vision, energy and skill.
There is an unlimited range, certainly in the pallete of colors but also in the area of subject and visual impression. We have a vast storehouse of artistic expression to historically go back and feed from. Are you convinced? Want to start painting? Or are you stuck in the world of black and white print?
Don’t get me wrong, the ability to transfer feeling, emotion and psychology through print to our minds is undeniable. I once ventured into the writing of a novel. What started out as a creative jaunt turned into a four year struggle to see it completed. It definitely stretched my abilities but also patience to nurture something for that long, tweaking it until it has just the right effect and the painfully correct nuances. Yes, good writing can do much but more for the actual author than the reader. However the oil painter has a medium (a vehicle) that provides for endless opportunity. As a painter’s skill develops then one is compulsed to see what can be done next. That is, the painter takes from each experience definite improvements of skill. It is only natural to want to explore these new skills. Sometimes what we want to say needs improved skill to convey what is wanting to be conveyed – especially those more subtle but important psychological statements.
If we think that ‘A Direct Medium’ is a more pure means of expression, we are getting close. I often listen to music when I paint because it is often that a very pure note is hit or a very beautiful song and that beauty, that integrity and that purity does transfer into whatever it is I am painting. Music I would likewise consider a Direct Medium though of course, less tactile that the medium of painting. Can you imagine carving away at a block of granite!