When you watch children play, it becomes obvious they are making it up as they go along. There may be some rules, something like "you guys are on that side and we're on this side." Beyond that almost everything gets made up as they go along. When they get bored they stop and do something else. This is play.
It sounds easy. It's not. As adults we've become outcome driven. So how do we re-learn play? As an artist how do I play and bring freshness to a painting?
I'm learning it's by paying attention to how I feel while I paint. The process is to work on several paintings at the same time. Just start and keep moving. Have one of the pieces be a throwaway piece--a painting where I intentionally don't care what happens on it or to it.
This is the art process I'm learning and it's working--at least some of the time it's working. It's easy to get to a stage where I like some of it but know it's not really very good. That's when it's frustrating. Stop. Move on to the next piece. When I return it's easier to see what needs to be done to make it better. It's easier to give up those things I sort of liked and wanted to keep. It gets easier to paint right over them.
It gets easier and more fun each day. It's fun to go into the studio and not wonder if anything good will come of the day's work. I'm finding I really enjoy the fixing part. I find ways to make the design stronger, to move the viewers eye around the painting. I've begun paying attention to those moments when I feel most engaged and when I become bored.
Here are the 5 stages of the painting I've been playing with. Who knows what will happen to it tomorrow? But it's exciting to think about.
It sounds easy. It's not. As adults we've become outcome driven. So how do we re-learn play? As an artist how do I play and bring freshness to a painting?
I'm learning it's by paying attention to how I feel while I paint. The process is to work on several paintings at the same time. Just start and keep moving. Have one of the pieces be a throwaway piece--a painting where I intentionally don't care what happens on it or to it.
This is the art process I'm learning and it's working--at least some of the time it's working. It's easy to get to a stage where I like some of it but know it's not really very good. That's when it's frustrating. Stop. Move on to the next piece. When I return it's easier to see what needs to be done to make it better. It's easier to give up those things I sort of liked and wanted to keep. It gets easier to paint right over them.
It gets easier and more fun each day. It's fun to go into the studio and not wonder if anything good will come of the day's work. I'm finding I really enjoy the fixing part. I find ways to make the design stronger, to move the viewers eye around the painting. I've begun paying attention to those moments when I feel most engaged and when I become bored.
Here are the 5 stages of the painting I've been playing with. Who knows what will happen to it tomorrow? But it's exciting to think about.
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