Painting as a Meditation on the Self and the Universe

Why can making art be a challenge? For me specifically, making acrylic paintings I will try to explain a little bit why this is true. In some way or another you are always painting yourself. Even when I spent years painting in complete non-representational art with no conscious intention, aspects of myself always come through. If I do quick sketches, still-lifes, or planned compositions, aspects of the self always worm through. I find this to be true when I write prose as well, it is a therapeutic process on some levels. Even when you are not physically working on the piece it is often in your mind, even after finishing it. Leonardo said, "art is never finished, only abandoned". I am sure many artists of all kinds relate to these aspects of the creative process. That is why making paintings is more stressful then you think it is. Because you ARE always painting yourself whether you want to or not. It is like a mirror of yourself, an extended daily meditation of 6, 8 sometimes 12 hours or more. That is what makes art beautiful though, honest art is an expression of the soul, a mirror of it. That is what I try to instill into my artwork.

Dreaming is the Hard Part, Believe it or Not

"I dream a lot. I do more painting when I'm not painting. It's in the subconscious."
-Andrew Wyeth

I find this quip from Wyeth to be very true for me in the sense that when I'm painting there is that inherent bliss in the work. The continuity of the project, the brush to the paper, the dipping in water, the flow of the paint, finishing the line, seeing the form, finishing the next part etc.

When I'm not painting (or engaging in other hobbies/distractions) it's like my mind is constantly churning. I mean the action of the painting, can be considered the final part of the process. Everything I see, hear, etc. I am automatically influenced by, and the mind is constantly taking in and thinking, thinking, thinking; always thinking. It's hard to shut the damn thing off sometimes.

Even as a kid age seven or eight maybe, I remember thinking about my mind as being similar to some sort of separate muscle that moved on its own without my intending it too. I found it frustrating. Almost like it could process information faster than my conscious mind could work through. I guess that is what dreams are for. I have always been much more of a visual learner, then anything else. It took me a long time to start talking, but I always remember being comfortable drawing pictures.

So about dreaming specifically, it's an important part of my creative process. Dreaming can be like painting in the sense that you're working out aspects (trying to express and understand) of your daily life, inner fears, desires, emotions; through elements like visual symbols and various imagery, colors, and settings. Sometimes I'll get an idea for a painting from a dream and sometimes I will create a painting and then dream about the elements from it. Both are things that help me understand myself better.

 Anyways that is my thought for the day (well one at least). Just another attempt at understanding the creative process.

Where's the Line and How do I Cross It?

This post kind of continues along the lines of the last one, touching on the struggle between working for someone else and working for your art; that eternal struggle to have the time and energy to pursue your creative goals more fully. With focused effort and hard work towards lofty goals, yes it's possible to pursue your dream (evidenced by successful full-time artists), but where do you draw the line? At what point do you just go for it fully and how exactly do you even do that? (Those aren't rhetorical questions, I would really like to know the answer). Sometimes it can seem like every day for years is a struggle just to find motivation for a bit of creative juice and the energy and time to utilize it.

There are millions of us in this world who say well I am really a writer or I am working here, but I really am a painter. That last leg of the journey to doing your art full time requires a lot of risk taking, and sometimes it seems like I don't even know how to approach that risk. Well the first step obviously is creating the work, and the best way to do that is in solitude, found in the time necessary to be free and do the work.

"To dream magnificently is not a gift given to all men, and even for those who possess it, it runs a strong risk of being progressively diminished by the ever-growing dissipation of modern life and by the restlessness engendered by material progress. The ability to dream is a divine and mysterious ability; because it is through dreams that man communicates with the shadowy world which surrounds him. But this power needs solitude to develop freely; the more one concentrates, the more one is likely to dream fully, deeply."
-Charles Baudelaire

You always hear the stories of great artists and writers, musicians, etc. who were born into a comfortable life, whose fathers and mothers taught them their art from the time they were born, and introduced them to all the proper connections their whole life. That is often the story when you read the biography of famous artists of the past. How many people who are given the gift of being able to dream deeply, are allowed the time and the effort needed to truly use this gift?

Working full-time or part-time even at a job that's not ideal because one has bills to pay and of course being tired after the day is done can seem as I said before, like an endless cycle. Maybe you get a little work done doing what you truly love to do, but I also imagine what I could do with a fully laid out wide open studio and lots of time (who doesn't though right?).

Speaking specifically though about Baudelaire's words above and dreaming.... One summer a number of years ago I did have the luxury of time, freedom and the concentration to write my dreams down every day. Where at first it seemed like a lot of random crazy objects, people, and events; after a few weeks a pattern emerged. Like filling in a puzzle that you don't have the whole picture to yet but eventually it starts to make sense. I am well on way in this journey of filling out that puzzle that is my art, with a bit of luck maybe eventually I'll be able to fill it in and complete the whole picture, or at least start to get some major holes filled in!

Working At Being an Artist

It's been a few weeks since I last posted, sorry about that readers. I guess you could say I have been uninspired, at least with my writing. I have been working on some pen and ink and colored pencil drawings, maybe I'll preview some of those in the coming days.

Let's talk about creative inspiration. A common idea in talk of and by artist's, writers, musicians, etc., is that notion that creativity comes in spurts, that you must get on a roll, ride the wave, get in the flow or whatever; you know what I mean. But does that have to be the case? I say no, not at all. Although my lack of writing this month I attribute to being uninspired, maybe I am just being lazy. Aren't successful artists the ones who are at least somewhat regimented with a discipline of creating every single day for at least several hours if not 8-10 hours or more (ideally)?

"Why do people think artists are special? It's just another job."
Andy Warhol (1928-87)

Warhol is right on with this quote, at least for me, - painting and drawing is not all bliss and vision and inspiration. I do believe that there is a kind of creative cycle or tide that comes in and leaves, absolutely, it's hard to deny that. But what about continuing to create when the inspirational tide goes out to sea again? Sometimes I don't feel like even looking at paper or pencils, paints, computers or anything, but to be successful one must get past this right? We create because we are passionate about the work obviously, and you don't want to force anything, but at the same time I definitely could more disciplined in my creative endeavors.

Maybe the key is changing things up when you feel that block. When I'm not painting I could be photographing, then publishing and writing online, then networking, and when the tide comes back in I'm ready to paint. By focusing on different aspects involved in being an artist maybe it's possible to kind of cycle those processes into working on something every day.

Painting As a Process of Discovery

The process of creating art can be viewed as a kind of therapy, a release, a celebration, meditation, reflection, exploration; among many more things. The last one; creative process has exploration is what is most interesting to me. Non-objective expression especially is for me a vehicle into the unconscious, the self, a deeper reality, a process of experimenting and discovery and a tool for enlightenment. Exactly what Dada artist Max Ernst expressed in this quote:

"Painting is not for me either decorative amusement, or the plastic invention of felt reality; it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation." - Max Ernst

I make the mistake of forgetting this idea on a regular basis. One would think it would be easy to maintain this aspect when painting and drawing, but it is not so easy for me. The best moments are of course when I am in the moment, creating. Giving life to something completely new, something vibrant, expressive, unique; lost in that moment of expression.

The farther I can get lost in it, the more truly expressive the work can become. But reaching that point requires letting go all of those things that can keep me from getting to the ideas that Ernst expresses in the preceding quote. I mean avoiding things like too much repetition or too much concern with the final product. The latter happens to me a lot when I am working on a painting or drawing. I start with just a free kind of attitude of having fun just putting paint to canvas or ink to paper and I am really liking what I am doing. Then the more I think I like it the more concerned I am with what I am doing, and the less creative the piece ends up being.

At the core, the process of creation is absolutely what Ernst said, "....it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation." This is what gives me inspiration anyways, not settling for anything and always risking a lot every piece every time. Yah, I have more than a few unsuccessful pieces, but I also create lines, shapes, images and texture that really are visually exciting to me that I had to experiment to create. I guess it is that never-ending pursuit and process of discovery that attracts me so much to painting and drawing.

Discussing Wassily Kandinsky's Essay: "Concerning the Spiritual in Art"

I was reading an essay recently by that most famous of early abstract painters (at least in my book) Wassily Kandinsky, published in 1914 as: The Art of Spiritual Harmony, (translated by Michael Sadler). I was particularly struck by the second part of it entitled; "The Movement of the Triangle". It describes a diagram that is a simile for the life of the spirit. I didn't see a diagram anywhere so I thought I would make one, because I don't know about you, but I am a visual learner. Sometimes I can read something twenty times and not really get it, until I map it out for myself. Along with my diagram, I have also selected what I consider the most vital elements of Kandinsky's "The Movement of the Triangle" and presented them below: (Click above for full essay.)

"The life of the spirit may be fairly represented in diagram as a large acute-angled triangle divided horizontally into unequal parts with the narrowest segment uppermost. The lower the segment the greater it is in breadth, depth, and area.

The whole triangle is moving slowly, almost invisibly forwards and upwards. Where the apex was today the second segment is tomorrow; what today can be understood only by the apex and to the rest of the triangle is an incomprehensible gibberish, forms tomorrow the true thought and feeling of the second segment."

And then here is my diagram:

(Note: the article is in the public domain, but the diagram is © by Ed Tajchman 2008.)

Kandinsky goes on to say:

"At the apex of the top segment stands often one man, and only one. His joyful vision cloaks a vast sorrow. Even those who are nearest to him in sympathy do not understand him. Angrily they abuse him as charlatan or madman. So in his lifetime stood Beethoven, solitary and insulted."

and a paragraph later....

"In every segment of the triangle are artists. Each one of them who can see beyond the limits of his segment is a prophet to those about him, and helps the advance of the obstinate whole. But those who are blind, or those who retard the movement of the triangle for baser reasons, are fully understood by their fellows and acclaimed for their genius. The greater the segment (which is the same as saying the lower it lies in the triangle) so the greater the number who understand the words of the artist. Every segment hungers consciously or, much more often, unconsciously for their corresponding spiritual food. This food is offered by the artists, and for this food the segment immediately below will tomorrow be stretching out eager hands."

Wassily Kandinsky

You can see from diagram a. above the artists and their vision; they create spiritual growth; spiritual food as Kandinsky says for the artists on the level below them, and thus move the whole of understanding forward. You can also see in diagram b. the ones on the bottom, inhibiting the growth of knowledge and understanding.

One modern example of the latter is, (I won't name any names) but think about the work of several of those very successful commercial 'painters', (you know who I mean). The ones who create overly-cheesy, 'safe', repetitious, massively reproduced work. I too If I so desired, could paint pictures of puppy dogs and sunsets and cottages and sell them for profit.

By giving in to the temptation to create solely for money though, and not taking risks, you limit your vision and growth as an artist. And therefore impede the progress of our understanding of reality as a whole, by not fully exploring the gifts you have been given. I'm not saying success is bad of course, but I prefer risky work; ones who create out of a desire to express themselves in a new and unique way; broadening the nature of our understanding of this world.

But that's just one aspect (from my perspective) of a very broad dynamic that Kandinsky is speaking of. So, hopefully I was able to offer up a little bit of spiritual food today for you with this post. If you read this much you might as well read the whole article, (link is at the top) it is a very fascinating read.

Jackson Pollack on Creating

I believe that in many ways you create the reality that you live in. I believe that thoughts can become real, and the more you concentrate and focus the more real and tangible the thought is. Or in Jackson Pollack's case, the more you let go and get into your work the deeper into the self you travel.

"When I say artist I mean the man who is building things - creating molding the earth - whether it be the plains of the west - or the iron ore of Penn. It's all a big game of construction - some with a brush - some with a shovel - some choose a pen."

-Jackson Pollack

In his paintings Pollack created a mirror of his soul. A personal and direct expression of himself; a crude way to think of his work is as a kind of seismographic Rorschach Test. I have only seen some smaller Pollack paintings in person and they reeked of inner spiritual expression. I would love to see some of his giant more formal paintings,..... one day soon perhaps.

T.S. Eliot on Creativity

What is Mr. Eliot trying to tell us in the following quote of his?

"The more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates; the more perfectly will the mind digest and transmute the passions which are its material."

-T.S. Eliot, from his essay: "Tradition and Individual Talent", 1922.

My opinion is that he speaks of suffering has a beneficial ingredient or fuel rather, for the creative mind; "...the passions which are its material." He is saying that the mind needs tension, struggle, needs conflict, and drama; the pursuit of one's ideals or vision through diffuculty. The Latin phrase "Ad Astra Per Aspera" (to the stars through difficulty) comes to mind. (it's the State of Kansas' motto).

Some would argue that having the time and money to do art creates a situation where masterpieces can be created, leaving the artist free from stress, worries, responsibilities, etc. But just because one may be comfortable, doesn't mean that one has to rid himself of the 'tension' in his/her life that can help with the creative process. Take for example comedian Andy Kauffman, who even when he 'hit it big', took a job at a deli-counter in an effort to keep it (his comedy) real, providing fuel for his art. In conclusion, I am not saying one needs to suffer to make good art; but it sure does make it a hell of a lot easier.

Henri Matisse On Creative Spirit

I had to write about this quote because it encompasses ideas I have had, but Matisse presents them together in a way that is both elegant and enlightening in their truth. I guess I'm trying to say I have never put it (thoughts on the creative spirit) quite like that, but now that I see it, the simple truth of the statement is fascinating to me.

"Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play."

- Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

Matisse's Self Portrait, 1918.

I know he lived in the past and I am in his future, but I feel like Matisse was reading my personality when he wrote these words. These are aspects of my self and of some of my closest friends. I remember in my adolescence being asked one of those general icebreaker questions during a group activity - what is your favorite quality about yourself?

My answer was immediately without question, my creativity. The open, unique and independent way I view the world, the way that I interpret it and my ability to express that in my work. It's fundamental in who I was then, who I am now, and who I hope to be.

Good Art, Anxiety, and Oppression

Oppression can breed good art. Not to say that good art has to come from suffering though; this was a point an art teacher of mine made clear to me. This quote from American then British poet T.S. Eliot illustrates this point:

"Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity."

- T.S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

Also take Picasso's Guernica for example, which is still a living symbol of the tragedy that the Nazi regime laid upon a small town in Italy. Wars always produce a counter reaction of interesting art. Dada in response to World War I, the cultural boom in America after World War II: abstract expressionism, bebop jazz, method acting, and beat poetry.

In Russia, exiles from the socialist revolution like painters Marc Chagall and Wassily Kandinsky - spread their artistic influence globally. So - good art doesn't need to come from anxiety, but it sure can light a fire in an artist's soul sometimes.