The Wisdom of Cesar Milan and Ode to My Brush

I was watching the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic channel the other day. It was an episode in which Cesar Milan was working with a dog that had a habit of running scared when hearing any loud noise and then getting somewhat aggressive when you try and bring it out of the corner of the yard. So he was using a pool skimmer that he found nearby to stroke the dog with. He did this in order to keep his hands away from the dog and still show it calm energy, he exhibited a calm state of mind while gently stroking the dog's back with the skimmer, and he said, "It's not the tool, it's the energy behind the tool." I was struck by the profound simpleness of the statement, and it immediately made me think of a brush and painting, it's not the brush it's the energy behind the brush (or pen or whatever).

"The painting rises from the brushstrokes as a poem rises from the words. The meaning comes later." - Joan Miro

Sometimes maybe it is the brush though; for example recently I had misplaced my favorite watercolor brush and really was in a painting mood, so proceeded to dig through all my other brushes and start paint anyways. After an hour or two with a few different brushes I was dismayed with my results and decided to stop working. Later I found my favorite brush (a Grumbacher golden edge #4620 size 7 I've had for years) and the urge to paint returned and I was much happier with the results. I probably have close to a thousand hours of painting logged with this single brush; It's my Excalibur if you will, or my old reliable. (True story, as a small child once, I was intent on changing my name, after much deliberation I had decided on Arthur for some reason, obviously I didn't really change my name though).

"Arthur withdraws the sword"
Illustration by Helen Stratton from Heroic Legends
by Agnes Grozier Herbertson, London, 1908.

The original point of the post though, is that like Cesar transferring his energy through the tool into the dog, the artist transfers his or her energy through the brush/pencil/pen onto and into the paper/canvas. The tool is merely an extension of the hand. I discussed this topic to an extent in the post Chi, Energy, and Painting. There is a work by artist Alex Grey called Artist Hand that really illustrates this idea well. To view it, go to the Alex Grey Website in the left hand column under Paintings, then under Progress of the Soul to view it.

Sometimes when I am using a brush or pen, this metaphor comes to mind of it being a kind of seismograph that reads the energy in the room and in me; but one that has unlimited color and shape options and my arm as a guide. I love digital art and of course computers are wonderful tools, blah blah blah; but there is an inherent, undefinable, unquestionable quality that a handmade thing has over a digital or machine-made thing. This is one reason that I will always prefer a hand-made work of art over a digital one.