The other day a student asked me whether I could come up
with four or five questions that an artist could internally ask to help figure
out where they want to go with their work. I wish I could think of an easy
answer, but I fear it is a life long pursuit. That is both the good and bad
news. If there were an end to the journey, then once it was reached what
incentive would there be to press on? The bad news is that this means you are
embarking on a journey of self-discovery that will more than likely be never
ending, with the destination always feeling just beyond your reach. The more we
know, the more we realize there is to know. At first it is easy because your
focus is on perfecting the craft of your work. The real struggle only begins
once you have achieved most of the technical hurdles. That is the point when you must no longer draw from what is
outside of you, but begin to draw from the well within you. This may feel
daunting at first, but you need to just focus on the next step of your journey.
I believe there is more to art than just reproducing what
something looks like. I say “just” but I realize that painting what something
“looks” like is not an easy task, which is why so many artists continue to
spend so much time trying to do just that. Don’t misunderstand me, I am not discounting the need to
perfect craft, I just don’t think that is the final destination. Once craft is
perfected we may find ourselves thinking “now what?” If perfecting craft is your present goal along this journey
and it brings you satisfaction, then continue on. When the goal of perfecting
craft has been achieved, you may feel yourself questioning whether there is
something more to discover.
This does not have to be some sort of deep trip into psycho
self-analysis. But, it is the
realization that all art is a form of communication. There is room for all
levels of communication. It depends on what you are trying to communicate and
who you want to be in conversation with. I think that music is a good analogy.
Musicians must hit the right notes, but great musicians do more than hit the
right notes, they impart something of themselves in the performance. There is
more than the accuracy of their craft. There is something that can’t be
described. That “something” is fleeting in a musical performance, as painters,
we seek to give that “something” permanence in paint. Kandinsky did his best to
explain this phenomenon. He felt
that a work of art is a physical object that springs from the inner being of
the artist, but it is also the trigger point that begins a reverse process back
into the inner being of the viewer. So the physical work of art becomes the
bridge to an inner experience that was deeply felt by the artist. If there is no initial force that was
deeply felt within the artist, the work may be visually pleasing and adept, but
lack that emotional bridge and connection. This connection is similar to the
one that makes us weep when we hear a musician perform a piece with all his
being. We all have been moved my
real art. But how do we create it?
Whatever your subject matter is, your painting should strive
to be your intimate reaction to something. If what you see is all I get as a
viewer, then art has lot some of its purpose and power. I believe that the artist is more than
a cook that knows how to put the ingredients together to make a tasty meal. As
an artist, you must find the secret ingredient that only you possess. You must somehow transform the
materials into something that is more than the summation of its parts. As I often
say, depending on your religious persuasion, you are either searching for magic
or the hand of God in your work!
So back to my students question; if the answer lies within
you, then that is where you must look for clues. We are very good at hiding from
ourselves. A good idea is to keep a small journal where you can write down
notes. Perhaps begin a list of
words that resonate with you, or sometimes one will jump out when you are
reading. Write it down. Start to figure out what really interests or puzzles
you. Do you like things organized or chaotic? What type of things do you
collect? What makes your happy, what makes you angry? Is there something that currently perplexes you? What is
your personality, for better for worse? Make a list of adjectives that describe
you, list your preferences and your dislikes. Watch for things that trigger you
during the day for good or bad and write them down. What do you want to
say? If tomorrow was your last day
on earth, and your next painting was all that was left behind to communicate to
the future, what message would you want to send? Would you yell it or whisper
it?
These are just possible jumping off points to begin a
series. A series becomes the next step on your journey to discovering
meaningful work. A series may go 4-6 paintings and then be exhausted, but lead
you in a new direction. Or, a series may take 100 paintings to work
through. The important thing is
that you start thinking about your work as being more that the depiction of
something, it is something new and separate that has been created by you,
through you, because of YOU. Begin
to paint what only you can paint!
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