In a recent "Pastel Journal" article, Richard McKinley talks about finding beauty in the mundane. and to create art that didn't just "look right...work that conveyed what he was seeing and feeling..."
I have read this article over and over and find it fascinating. He talks about looking at scenes differently. Something that is not all that attractive to the eye at first is looked at in a different way. Using the elements of art such as "line, color, value, and edge." Most of my art is a copy of what the scene actually looks like - with a painterly addition. And that is okay. But how does the artist create something with more feeling, more mystery, something that engages the viewer to see and feel? Isn't that what makes an artist unique?
I hear people say, "Wow, that painting looks just like a photo!" And that is okay. But sometimes, an artist is able to put into a painting his feelings. I want to do that. I want to take a mundane scene and make it into something interesting by using color, light, etc. I don't want to do my usual "exact" rendition. I want to see things differently and express that.
Easier said than done.
4 comments:
I’m with you. I am amazed at the imagination that artists have and share in their work. I am more of a recorder of things, like windmills or old doors. I’m looking for the feeling, too. :-)
Jo,
I am going to try and keep this in mind when I paint. Already I did a little painting that looks just like the picture. sigh. I really wanted more feeling. Painting expression is not so easy.
I have all the art appreciation of a "paint by the numbers man", destined to buy "Velvet Elvis" in a pawn shop that smells like dippity-doo and pineapples.
Etienne,
If your Velvet Elvis has those smells, it probably evokes great emotions. Dippity-doo smell takes me way back to trying to tame my bangs as a kid. Pine-sol is another great smell that brings back great memories.
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