A Word about Art
Join me in this written series where I explore what lies at the heart of my paintings and what I aim to bring you too. I have purposely not planned more than a couple of steps ahead, and I am constantly revising it as I go along , so please share your thoughts and comments.
Stillness
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye" Antoine de St. Exupery
Which paintings do you love that capture something invisible but powerful about a place, person or a moment? It's that invisible component of magic that draws us in.
Everything about a painting and in every stage of painting it, I focus on conveying the spirit of that moment. So from the very beginning, the painting is not really about what you can see, even if it is representational, but on what it feels like to be there and the well-being that comes from beautiful places. In order to capture that feeling I will need to focus on that throughout the time I am painting it, so that you as the viewer also experience it too whenever you look at it.
A big part of this sense of wellbeing is a sense of stillness. Stillness is the most important feeling that I aim for in a painting. It may have been a fleeting experience but I want my paintings to be a continual reminder of that feeling of stillness, like a short cut to finding it in the midst of the business of everyday life.
I use stillness as a guide -a painting reaches the point when I know it's finished when I'm happy that I have captured that feeling. That doesn't mean that a painting can't also capture other emotions like a feeling of adventure or energy, but somewhere deep in the core of the painting I'm looking to create a stillness behind those other emotions.
I'd love to receive your thoughts and comments, so please get in touch on Instagram, Facebook or by email-links at top of page!
Switching between mind and feeling
With the feeling of stillness as my guide, every decision is made with this experience in mind.
'Mind' is probably not the right word to emphasise however. Mind plays a part -"Which brush shall I use here? Do I need to wait for this layer to dry?" but it's important 'mind' doesn't get the upper hand (which it loves to do!) Letting mind get the upper hand can lead to an artwork that may look lifeless because it only contains 'things' and doesn't contain that magical feeling of stillness that sits silently alongside them.
The process of painting switches continuously between mind ( such as " How many windows are there in the house I'm painting?") and feeling ( "Is this what it feels like to be there? Have I captured a feeling of stillness?") I found it intriguing and helpful to become aware of this switch in focus between mind (which isn't often still!) and the feeling of stillness and to watch when it happens whilst making art.
My intention is that the painting when it's on your wall not only brings that feeling of peace and stillness, but that the switching between mind and feeling that I did whilst painting it, is also conveyed to anyone that sees it. That you also can consciously notice when you switch between the surface elements of the painting, the things that it depicts and the stillness that is always silently there beneath the surface.
I'd love to receive your thoughts and comments, so please get in touch on Instagram, Facebook or by email-links at top of page!
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