It was a disappointing week for me. First off, I wasn't able to paint. For those of you who read my post from last week, may remember that I mentioned this future prediction; I mentioned Thanksgiving week was going to be a stretch to get any painting done. So, if I realized this fact almost a week ago, why am I still disappointed? I'm disappointed because I didn't paint - even though I realized in advanced there was a strong possibility of it not happening. Thus, is the cycle of the artist mindset.
My second disappointment was the fact that my two pumpkin pies I baked for Thanksgiving dinner turned out to be disasters. It turned out I didn't follow the baking directions properly and I was missing one or two ingredients. Why? I thought it wouldn't matter in the end. What does this have to do with art? Read on.
A good friend of mine reminded me that like art, many things have a certain process that needs to be followed, or the finished work will not be our best. Time tested procedures and directions must be followed. Shortcuts cannot be taken. If we do that, the finished work may even look somewhat decent, but under closer scrutiny, will show a great deal of flaws. My good friend also got together with me to help bake additional pies. We followed the process to the letter and all of them came out (and tasted) flawless.
After our pie-making excursion, I invited her to my studio to view my latest paintings. She is not fellow artist, nor an avid art lover. However, I was still surprised at what she had to say about my latest abstract paintings. At one point, she twisted her head sideways to get another view of them.
"This painting looks like a large bird," she pointed out to me. Then I held up the painting with one of the new frames my husband and I purchased recently. "Wow - it looks great in a frame. The colors really stand out." I put the frame and canvas down. She walked over to the painting and continued critiquing in her own way; "It looks like energy is coming in from outer space - and in this sky looking area - it looks like the energy is flowing to the ground."
This is one of the beautiful aspects about art. We don't always have to try and figure what the painting is about. We don't have to know what each line and/or object is. My friend looked at a painting and identified what she liked about it and what drew her to the painting. That equals why she can enjoy it. Consider it the process of viewing art. Just like there is a creative process to actually paint the painting, the same could be said for viewing it. Ditto for making great pies!
When I paint, I don't think in the logical sense. As crazy as that sounds, it works. I dance with my paint across the surface of the canvas. It's what I do naturally. This is part of my creative process and it comes to me easily.
We all have gifts and talents. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for my husband, family, friends, and the talents we all have. By the way - here's a picture of my "perfect" pie. And it tasted just as good as it looks. Amazing what happens when you follow a process that works...
Until next time,
The Thankful Painter,
Jill
No comments:
Post a Comment