Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
In Search of Inspiration
Much of this book provides "how-to" information on the physical aspects of creating a painting. I would be remiss, however, if I didn't say something important creative process that goes on in our head.
The Big Picture
Let's look at the big picture first. As we make progress in our painting journey, we tend to work through two general stages.
THE INITIAL STAGE: PAINTING WHAT YOU SEE
This is the most common approach to painting. At this level you carefully observe the lines, colors, shapes, lighting, values and so on in the subject before you, or in a photo, and then try to get it onto the paper as it appears. You may eliminate, emphasize or rearrange certain aspects to improve the final image, but essentially what is in front of you goes on the paper. This attempt to capture the moment and place is the way most of us paint most of the time, and if you are a beginner, it is the recommended approach because it forces you to develop observational skills, experience with composition and expertise in a wide range of basic techniques. You may wish to paint this way for the rest of your life and be quite happy and successful, and that's fine.
However, many artists start feeling stifled once they have painted this way for some time. They need a new idea or a new approach, a new way to get excitement into their work. Maybe if they learned one more tricky technique, or bought new brushes or colors, it would solve the problem. But these solutions don't last. They can't escape the annoying little voice that keeps telling them there is another way to do it, a better way to do it, and they get discouraged. They even have vague, fleeting images of what their work could look like flashing across their minds, or they see a freshness in other people's work and wish they had thought of that.
THE SECOND STAGE: USING YOUR IMAGINATION
Those images and feelings that keep calling you are an invitation. It's your creative spirit that knows you are ready to come out and play. It wants you to go further, to go beyond the literal interpretation of a subject to something that speaks of things not seen by the eye, but by the soul and the imagination. It wants you to be quiet and let the spirit of the subject and your ingenuity create something bigger, more powerful, more profound than just a painted photograph. This is the second level where painting what is seen morphs into painting what you want to see. It's about painting what you would like to feel or have the viewer experience, and it comes from within you. Now the subject is only a catalyst that, with your imagination, opens the doors to endless exciting ideas and images.
But there is a price of admission. If you dabble at this level, you'll need to be daring; you'll need to ignore what others think and be willing to take risks and trust your innate creative abilities.
If this second stage sounds familiar, then the following will be of interest to you.
THE ANSWER IS INSIDE YOU We are more than flesh and bones. We are far more capable and wondrous than we can ever imagine. The arts — be it literature, music, sculpture, visual arts, dance and so on — prove this. Their expression, in all forms, is concrete evidence of our humanity and an expression of the truth of who we really are. Through the ages the arts have been trying to tell us about our true identity, the best we can be, our higher self.
Our creative spirit is a manifestation of that higher self. It is a wellspring of originality and ingenuity unleashed by imagination, where anything is possible. Imagination is our most powerful tool in exploring our world and ourselves because it brings to bear the influences of our own life experiences, preferences and feelings in its expression. It explains why we each have our own visions, solutions and sense of what is right and beautiful, and are then driven to express it.
Our higher self, that creative spirit, speaks to us as "intuition," a gut feeling that guides our perceptions. It is the first sense on the scene and gives us hunches and insight, not based on facts and information but on how a situation makes us feel.
"Subtle" would be the best word to describe the messages that come suddenly and without fanfare. They are so quiet, in fact, that they are easily missed, ignored or drowned out by distractions and a critical left brain ready to condemn anything out of the ordinary.
HOW DO WE ACCESS OUR HIGHER SELF?
To access our higher self, we build a bridge. That bridge or gateway to our higher self and our creative spirit is our frame of mind. It's our attitude. When we honestly focus our attention and intend on being more open, more original, more personal and especially more receptive to our intuition, we are attempting to be in a higher state of being with our creative spirit. That's the positive force from within that wants to help us solve problems and create things using our "imagination." It's that urge to create that keeps us coming back.
Of course you are not going to get much guidance if you haven't first defined a problem you want help with. This is what you focus on when you listen ever so carefully to the silence. At first it may only seem as if you are talking to yourself — which you really are — but as you mull over your problem, subtly, amid the mishmash of discordant thoughts, little hints or clues or possibilities will start appearing that you hadn't thought of before, because listening to the right side of your brain unlocks your imagination. It may be a gut feeling kind of answer, or an image or an impression or awareness of an action or a whole concept. Expect more than one answer, but do not expect words. Our higher self is nonverbal.
Don't expect a complete set of step-by-step instructions on how to save the world. It's not Wikipedia.
This mildly altered state of consciousness is our gateway or bridge to our higher self, our creative spirit. It's that positive force from within that wants to help us create. Those who practice meditation will understand this process.
Do you remember as a child how no one had to show you how to make a picture? You intuitively knew how to compose it. You can still do that today if you just start listening again to that quiet little voice that tells you what "feels" right. That's your key — asking the question, "What feels right?" So, the next time you have to make a decision about composition, for example, try quieting your mind, focusing on the picture, putting your pencil on the paper and asking, "What would make it feel right?" Then follow the subtle internal prompts.
Be patient. It takes practice, but the more you access and trust your intuition, the faster and more easily it comes.
Using your intuition is about waking up to what your higher self is trying to tell you, but most of all, it's about being receptive and less judgmental toward your own ideas, images and solutions.
THE IMPORTANCE OF A CHALLENGE
I always try to have some small problem to work through in every painting. It doesn't have to be earth-shattering but challenging enough that I have to use my ingenuity to solve it. I feel that if there is a problem to solve, an opportunity to be inventive, I always have far more interest in the painting. I find that if I am trying something new for the first time, there is always a freshness or uniqueness to the work. I have also found that when I try a new approach, it will usually spawn other options that I can follow or bookmark for later. When I start repeating myself and losing interest in a work, it's because there is no challenge left and I know I must search for another.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
Someone once said, "Play is the best way to learn, short of torture."
In childhood we learned much about our world by suspending reality and playing. Whether pretending, role playing or listening to fairy tales, we loved slipping into the private little make-believe world of our right brain. We still do. It is there that our inquisitive, nonjudgmental frame of mind can make profound discoveries about ourselves and the world. Learning to play with water, brushes and colors is the best way to learn about watercolors. We might call it "experimentation," but it's still play and most valuable to our growth.
Much has been written about the strengths of our left and right brain. It is enough to know that the left side excels in matters of logic, linear (step-by-step) thinking and spoken language, while the right brain prefers imaginative, holistic (the big picture), emotional, nonverbal communications. Regardless, it's best to think of both sides working equally in tandem, especially while painting. Here we need to move freely between our art knowledge and experiences with techniques and an open, free-spirited imagination. It is here where we find creative solutions by listening to our intuition and following up with learned art skills.
ASIDE: IT'S JUST KETCHUP
Our left brain deals with reality while the right brain, not knowing the difference, deals with emotions. We think of the right side of the brain as weak, but in fact, it can have a powerful effect on us. For example, when we go to a movie that involves fantasy, such as a sci-fi thriller, we know that the story presented is not real but we nonetheless willingly leave our left brain at the door and proceed to have ourselves emotionally drained by the film. Our left brain may be shouting "It's just ketchup! It's just ketchup!" but we let our right brain believe it's blood in order to fully entertain ourselves. It's always a wee bit of a mental shock and letdown when we leave the theater and reenter reality.
WHEN DO I USE INTUITION IN THE PAINTING PROCESS?
Right from the start.
DURING THE INITIAL PLANNING
Some people search for a painting idea by going through sketches and photos. Some go for long, quiet walks or listen to music. Regardless, when you set the stage and are eager for a new idea, your imagination and memories can feed you a stream of possibilities if you are receptive (nonjudgmental) and don't stop with the first idea. The trick is to grasp and record what you can from those fleeting images that morph across your mind. It doesn't matter if it's a sketch, a few words or a descriptive list of colors — whatever will help you remember the ideas. Let your gut feeling guide your choices in this initial stage.
On many of my outdoor workshops I have told the participants to make full use of the freedom they have with the subject. I encourage them to continually ask themselves the question, "What if ...?" or, "Why not ...?" What if I changed the lighting, or the colors or the arrangement of things? Why not leave out or include figures, or change the values, etc., if I feel it will make a stronger picture? The answer to these questions demands the use of imagination, logic (art knowledge) and intuition.
An additional question to ask is, "If not now, then when?" When will I be bold enough to express myself in a painting? All of these questions are of course also tied to the question, "What feels right?" If you change the colors, what feels most appropriate? If you add figures, where does it feel right to put them? Intuition, therefore, plays an important role right from the very beginning.
DURING THE PAINTING PROCESS
As soon as you choose the size and format of your picture, you have started making decisions which open the door to your intuition. What we must guard against is always making the same decisions without ever considering the options.
Perhaps you can remember the old TV commercial for V-8 cocktail vegetable juice where a fellow goes to the refrigerator after having a can of soda, slaps his forehead and says, "Wow! I could have had a V-8."
There is a parallel.
Our paintings are not so much the result of our achievements as they are the cumulative effect of self-imposed limitations. When I say limitations, I don't mean physical limitations or skill level. I'm talking about the things we handicap ourselves with, without even knowing. This is because we are creatures of habit and unintentionally or conveniently make the same choices every time we set off to paint. Without realizing it, we limit how we see our subject matter (always the same ground-level realistic point of view, same time of day, same weather, same subject, same amount of detail, same literal values, same, same, same), we limit how we compose our work (same major horizontal/ vertical line position; same background, middle and foreground layout; same color scheme; same reliance on luck for atmosphere; same lack of attention to movement; same; same; same) and, to a lesser degree, we limit how we work with the medium and the tools (using the same brush in the same way regardless of the task, the same tired techniques without variation, same, same, same). But the greatest option and gift that we fail to exercise most is intuition and imagination. What if we set ourselves free to do so? What if we listened to that wee inner voice and turned on innovation? What if we challenged ourselves with a problem that we had to solve in every picture?
The point is this: out of all our self-imposed limitations come the styles we each have now, and our pictures are the result of what we didn't do, the choices we didn't make.
Undoubtedly the awareness of our options comes with experience, but exercising them comes with a challenge, excitement and risk.
But, this is the only way we'll knock down barriers, climb out of our ruts and discover other ways of seeing and capturing a subject. We may even turn some walls into doorways or water into V-8.
WHEN YOU'RE FINISHED
Maybe it's too late in the painting process to use your intuition. All it can do now is congratulate you or tell you what you should have done instead.
IN SUMMARY
Whether you choose to open this door into yourself and tap into the inspiration and knowledge found therein is up to you.
I can only say that if you want to move into the second stage of painting, you'll need to look inward. There you'll find, as so many other artists before you have, an endless source of images and ideas. You'll see your subject in a new light, with new eyes, with new possibilities.
You'll become inspired to try different approaches with old subjects and find renewed excitement and enjoyment in your creative journey, and all without your teeth falling out.
Finally, I've been wondering why intuition always seems to provide answers, solutions, directions to follow and choices to make, but never seems to ask any questions. I suppose that might be a bit unnerving, but that brings me to my last point.
CLARIFICATION
In previous statements I may have described intuition as "a quiet little voice" that "speaks" to you. Let me point out that I don't mean an actual voice per se, but the feelings or impressions that you sense internally.
So, if you are sitting with paper and pencil in hand waiting anxiously to hear someone speak, forget it. On the other hand, if you are really hearing voices, perhaps a book on psychic channeling would be more in order.
CHAPTER 2
Composition
The most effective- pictures reach the Viewer at an emotional level as well as intellectual. These are the pictures that cause Viewers to reflect, See another reality, laugh, dream, empathize and even weep because they are taken well beyond a few layers of paint to a place most private and personal. Composition is a mayor part of that process.
Constructing Your Picture
How you arrange and present everything you put in your picture is called composition. It's something common to all creative endeavors. It's no coincidence that a musical composer refers to their piece of work as an "arrangement," or that a poet chooses and arranges their words carefully. Even chefs in fine restaurants know that arrangement and presentation is everything. If they just slopped the food on your plate, they would soon lose their reputations regardless of the quality of the food. Likewise, if you just slop the paint on your paper without any thought whatsoever as to where it goes or the final effect, you may be depending too heavily on happy accidents and a very gullible public. Intuitive decisions are not based on luck.
As artists our objective is to get our viewers to see what we want them to see. It helps to not lead them astray with undue distractions once you have their eyes on the paper.
This involves:
1. Knowing what attracts our eye and using this to establish a focal point and center of interest.
2. Knowing how to inject energy or dynamics by using movement and atmospherics.
3. Knowing what kind of distractions can lead the viewer's eye astray.
4. Realizing that even while working with the subject before you, you still must compose.
5. Knowing what tools we have to create the effects needed to achieve the above. We call these tools the elements of design, and the effects you can create with them the principles of design.
THE ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Earlier in this book I point out the importance of our innate creative abilities to make intuitive decisions when it comes to composition. I still believe that the painting process is but a bridge to a higher self or creative spirit that can guide us to our greatest potential. However, this is not in conflict with a good working knowledge of the elements and principles of design and, in fact, makes our intuitive decisions more informed. For example, if I were having brain surgery, I would trust the intuitive decisions of someone with medical training over a man off the street.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Keep Painting!"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Gordon Mackenzie.
Excerpted by permission of North Light Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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