Grabbing hold of inspiration

HOLDING YOUR MOUTH RIGHT

grudniski@shaw.ca — Sat, 24 May 2008 02:43:59 GMT

How do I know when I’m on the right creative track?

It has been said that the hardest thing for an artist to know is when to stop.

I don’t know of any painter that hasn’t over worked a painting or not taken it far enough.

How do you know when a painting is done? Are all the colour values uniform with so many complimentary and contrasting hues in a row? Is the feature element of the painting sitting in precisely the correct place on the canvas so the viewer will know you designed the painting with particular forethought? Have you created a perfect balance between form and space?

The truth is, all that stuff is academic. The elements that make a painting truly spectacular are the ones that come from within. We all know instinctively when it is time to stop, start again or walk away. That applies to every thing in life not just art.

I played pool/eight ball many years ago in my youth and I always knew when I was on a roll. I couldn’t miss and couldn’t be beat and I didn’t have to try hard. The balls kept going in the pockets and I was so confident I thought I could close my eyes and still sink any shot.

The point is I learned when I was in the zone and I took advantage of it. My late mother called it “holding your mouth right”. We all innately know when something is right on and it’s the same when creating art.

I have never planned an art project from beginning to end because I want as much out of the creative process as possible.

What is on the other side of the hill?

I think I know but I want to be surprised.

If we listen closely to our intuitive sense we will discover the essence of our creative inspiration.

If “discovery is the mother of invention,” then as artists or more importantly as human beings we must pay attention to the most infinitesimal nuances of life.

Jackson Pollack said in an interview for Life Magazine “I deny the accident”.

And yet his intent was constantly being consumed by a profound need to move his art forward. He constantly questioned his process and agonized over it. When every thing was aligned he knew how and when to take advantage of it.

“It” is the thing that pushed Pollack to paint and brought him closer to profound discovery.

Trusting our processes as artists especially in the face of criticism puts into question where our true inspiration comes from. I would suggest it is always there, trust “It” and act on “It”.

Florence

grudniski@shaw.ca — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:52:51 GMT

This world class city got me excited about art more than 25 years ago.

I was in Florence Italy in 2005 participating in the Florence Bienelle. As the show preceded my preoccupation with the locale of the exhibition consumed me with anticipation of a visit to the famous Galleria digli Uffizi.This gallery /museum is world renowned for its collections of Italian renaissance artists like daVinci and Michel Angelo. Any artist that has flogged their way through Art History survey courses would appreciate the concept of seeing an original daVinci as apposed to a slide reproduction. Well! I finally made it and my intention was to see daVinci’s “ Adoration of the Magi”. Entering the Uffizi was monumental with spires and columns lining the court through which all tourists enter. I was just a speck, another body upon millions that proceeded me and I was more enthusiastic then any of them.As I walked through this gallery ( it seems hardly right to call it a gallery, more a museum) I realized it was a 14 the century or older building that housed 20-30 galleries of art. Overwhelmed to say the least! I saw paintings and sculpture by Giotto, Botticelli, Montegna and Bellini and da Vinci, Raphael, Titian and Michelangelo.After about 2 hours I was exhausted and I could no longer take any more visual stimulation. I said to my wife Cathy I need to see one more painting than we will go.We headed for the room that housed da Vinci’s greatest work and there was a line up that curled around the top floor of the gallery about 200 ft long.“I can’t do this” “I won’t stand in line” as I attempted to convince myself it wasn’t important to see what I had only seen in a book.Disappointed but determined to leave we started towards the exit only to take one last detour through a little gallery at the end of the corridor.Oh my God there it was 8 –12 ft high and 12 ft wide was da Vinci’s “Adoration of the Magi” with not a person around it.O.K. let me tell you what is so special about this painting. da Vinci never finished it. There were several works that were incomplete but this one had a balance of drawn figures and horses (cartoons) with finished painted figures and horses in the same context. It was as if daVinci purposely left one fifth of this painting incomplete.Any practitioner of the fine art of painting would realize that daVinci was teaching the viewer about anatomy and the technique of building a work of art with an incredible dynamic presence. This painting while documenting a historical event provided the viewer with an examination of daVinci’s own ability as a master draftsman. It became clear to me I was supposed to see this painting. I sat in front of it undisturbed for a total of 45 minutes visually groping the surface of the canvas. Like a Michelangelo sculpture daVinci’s fingerprints were indelible. “Adoration of the Magi” provides evidence of drawn and re-drawn images, some kept and some discarded. The under painting is actually the map by which only a master could and would change the composition during the painting process. Reserving the right to design and re-design elements like a horses head or a figure of a man rejoicing, da Vinci some how translates these expressive drawn figures into something called a masterpiece.

Think outside the box!

grudniski@shaw.ca — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:38:36 GMT

Abstract impressionist painters, realists, modernists, sculptors are all being affected by a boom in the global art market. The one defining quality that most artists DON'T have whether they create paintings, video, sculpture or ceramics is Marketing. If you want to be seen you have to take a proactive approach to marketing yourself. A great example is Graziano Cecchini's Coloured Ball stunt on The Spanish Steps. This artist proved that art is about spectacle and that us artists should pay attention. Our world is changing rapidly via, global technology and every one has access to T.V. and the internet so it isn't good enough to be part of it ,you have to be the best at it.

What is Art?

grudniski@shaw.ca — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:32:34 GMT

This question receives mixed reactions.

I was asked that question many years ago when I was a student a the University of Lethbridge School of Fine Arts. I don’t remember my answer except I’m sure it had to do with something formal like the aesthetics of painting, sculpture or printmaking or ceramics. Many people in the class were asked the same question and they all had a different answer. The conclusion we all came to is that art is a very subjective thing that is based on various levels of experience, education, appreciation and of course perceptions.

A fellow artist once said to me if someone insists on giving you a finite definition of art run don’t walk away from them.

The truth is that the subjectivity of art is what opens up potential for new and exciting creative processes that not only indulge you as an artist but can educate the viewer.

So define art, by re-inventing and scrutinizing the processes by which you create it.