I have spent these recent cold months often hidden in the studio preparing new canvas's,arranging for a better studio to paint in, along with projects on colour space models ....observing various known models and how my own models relate or differ..
Being self taught as is my story,seems to have its pros and cons... sometimes an original approach or direction may develop adding to what is already known in a positive direction .
However much time can be wasted to "reinventing the wheel",... so the purpose of school , to receive sound direction, save time,costs and to have access to the known resources ,... I would recommend a student study from those that have results of their knowledge,visual painting and drawing requires an awareness of the spatial qualities or lack of in a work...., a teacher cannot help you overcome obstacles if they themselves do not see how to make a painting /drawing work spatially.
Do not invest your study time following trends, and do not worry about being original while learning to draw and paint, an art education is brief and costly ,...focus on understanding the fundamentals or tools of the trade,strive and inquire about all that may concern creating a drawing /painting in a correct visual fashion,.. originality or creative direction comes with time and work...these tools will help solve many problems and will open the doors towards your passion .
Creative passion needs to be harnessed with the skills and understanding that the fundamentals offer enabling the student to give" legs" to their creative ideas and observations .
Difficulty starts in a work when you lose track of what you "see" happening over to thoughts of what you "think" is happening .
Problems that arise in painting/ drawing are going to be a visual mistakes in spatial relations,and not an expressive one, which is subjective.
Seeing is one of the 5 senses that is hopefully granted... yet not always developed in each of us, as also applied to the other 5 senses such as hearing... a musician requires a developed sense of hearing to construct music... the sense of taste required in food combining, another developed sense that a chef requires....all these senses take time to develop to be fully utilized.
Eventually through trial and error I taught myself how to achieve better results in my work.
The breakthrough came by letting go of subject importance and replacing it with observation of each brush stroke or mark, connecting them together to create the illusion of space,I replaced expectations of what I think should happen ..with observing what actually is happening as I lay marks in paint on canvas, This new approach to painting marks the turning point towards seeing more accurately spatially therefore more crystallizing what truly inspires me to draw or paint.
I call these new paintings"Daydreamscapes" I relate that of coarse to daydreaming ,...to me is a time out in the planning day when you sit still and and allow your mind to contemplate the moment, away from all the shoulds planned out ahead ... its the place to recharge , regroup and allow "what is" transpire over "what should" . Switching the minds focus from language and symbols to direct connection to the visual part of the brain this will help focus stay in the present and not wonder to language mode or symbols.
The key in"finding the moment" is focusing on the purpose for the mark... purpose for me is to create an illusion of form in space, done thru observing each mark I make and seeing if it sits behind, in front of or beside the other marks relating to it.
In earlier pieces the focus seems to switch back and forth to the different brain areas or purpose....
"Daydreamscapes" in essence is embracing what works for me in approaching a drawing or painting reflecting and defining more of where I draw inspiration from ...which to me is part of the motivation to draw and paint, that of self reflection and understanding within the world we know...and perhaps beyond the known.
I first exhibited my new approach to painting in 2004 at Gallery Lambton , Sarnia Canada.
Here I attempt to capture most what inspires AND allows me to stay focused on each brush stroke, a state of being in the moment as is often said, here is the place where my creativity lives revealing infinite possibilities for my creative passion.
