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
This is a brief article on the Joy of Painting. My younger brother is a classical pianist, but plays all kinds of music and has a vast repetoire. He has reminded me that a passage must often be played hundreds and thousands of times to ‘get it smooth’. I imagine what he means is that a piece will have many subtle variations of tonality, crescendos and transitions. These are written of course in the music but I expect that by playing one becomes gradually aware of the deeper inferences written in the bars.
In oil painting we have no scores, no bars to guide us. We do have however certain established relationships of tonality, of hue and of contrast to name a few. If you are a painter serious in becoming truly adept you will need to practice often to learn these rules and relationships. There is also the need to develop the required dexterity in using the brush. Much of my work is wet on wet – that is, I paint along side applied paint, cutting a line defining one to the other or, I choose to blend them. There are multiple ways to accomplish those tasks and those effects. The Joy of Painting resides in these practice sessions. The only way to get ‘good’ is to practice these effects.
If you are waiting for some grand theme, some great inspiration you will eventually find yourself bankrupt. Far better to experience the simple joy of painting by application. Place one hue on the canvas that pleases you and then another beside it and then mix another. Determine how much white to add. The shapes you choose are irrelevant…just become expert in your brushwork, and learn to paint wet on wet. If you want, paint on small canvases. The beauty of abstract art allows you all manner of freedom – learn to trust your intuition. Don’t rush and learn to develop a steady hand. Study each effort and pause before mixing subsequent hues. Work in small passages until they are visually effective. Ask yourself, ‘does this area, this passage resonate with me?’ Eventually you will learn how to integrate all of the passages into a whole painting, but that comes later. The thing to do is to practice painting…you must paint often.
This is a lovely article, I like the part where it states, “If you are waiting for some grand theme, some great inspiration you will eventually find yourself bankrupt”, as you cannot wait for perfection in life, you must go for it.
I also like how you remind the painter to ask him/herself, does this part resonate with me, does it bring me joy. There are times when we are too busy in life to remember beauty and joy and those times are lost forever. Slow down, don’t practice perfection, practice doing & living in joy. Jennifer
Thanks Hon for your comments – I believe you said from your laptop computer.
Dad
Michael, I was especially touched by one of the same parts that Jennifer commented on:
“If you are waiting for some grand theme, some great inspiration you will eventually find yourself bankrupt. Far better to experience the simple joy of painting by application. Place one hue on the canvas that pleases you and then another beside it and then mix another. ”
It occurs to me that this is a powerful metaphor for all of life, Michael. The current cultural pressure to constantly produce great things and be the author of consistently “successful” outcomes is fierce; as you know, it begins to squeeze out authentic, joyful creativity even in young children. So we are all well advised, not only in art but in even our most common daily undertakings, to start with one hue that pleases, and then another, and another . . . the results cannot help but be something that brings an internal satisfaction that nourishes the soul. I see this as a form of meditation in action, if you will, that ties in with what you wrote in a later piece on universality in art.
Thanks for the insights here and in your other articles. And I particularly enjoy the feature on this site of seeing your stunning paintings in a home environment. Brings in a dimension that is delightfully enjoyable.
Please keep on trusting that intuition of yours and sharing with us its delicious fruit—in both words and images.
I can agree with most of this, just paint!!