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Stages of Creation: Part 4
05/06/2008 20:41:55 / full of life
Step 4: The Creation Stage
I
have done the research, come up with the image, mediated, and completed
the drawing, and planning. Now I am ready to really bring the painting
to life. This process is the least complicated, but often the most
demanding.
Before I start painting, I get the colors together
that I selected from the previous stage. Then I use the tracing paper
and transfer a very light tracing of the drawing on the painting
surface. In this case, it is an Ampersand Clayboard Smooth board.
Then
I might play some music to help connect me to the energy of the
painting and to set a creative atmosphere. In the case of the Goose
painting, I listened to a lot of medieval music, with a tendency toward
heavy drums. The band Corvus Corax
became a favorite while working on this piece. The music helps to
connect me to the painting, which is beneficial when I have to stop and
start painting many times.
When I actually start the painting, a
curious thing tends to happen, I find myself entering a meditative
state, similar to when I am creating the drawing. I have a tendency to
lose track of time. In fact, I often can paint for five or six hours
straight, thinking when I have stopped to take a break, that I have
only been working for an hour or two. When I am working on the
beginning stages of the painting I need to be sure that have a good
chunk of time in which to work. If I have a place to be or have a job
to go to, it is not a good idea to start painting, or I will end up
missing the appointment or being late for work. If I wait until the end
of the day, after I get home from work or my appointments, I might
paint until the wee hours of the night and end up losing precious
sleep! At later stages when I am doing detail work, I can start and
stop more easily. So, sometimes I can paint for an hour before work or
after I come home, without fear of disappearing from the world for too
long!
Where do I go when I paint? If any of you meditate, you
might relate to this experience more easily. I practiced very serious
sitting meditation for over four years before I began shifting my focus
more heavily on painting. To me, there is little difference between
sitting meditation and painting. The only difference perhaps is in the
posture. In both instances my mind is open, my thoughts are focused,
but not fixed on any one thing. I am connected to the present moment.
Suddenly, I am aware of no past, present or future, perhaps, I am aware
of them existing all at once. I believe this helps me to create a
painting that is connected to universal energy. It helps to keep my
artwork authentic, which I hope, in turn, helps my work to reach people
on a deeper level.
The tools I use here are:
(clockwise from the bottom left)
--The drawing from which I refer occasionally as I paint, mainly for the finer details that come later in the painting.
--The color sketch and color palette
--My laptop, which I use to view reference photos (I try not to print too many of my photos to help save trees and reduce waste)
--My tracing of the drawing (beneath that is a composite photo I created in Photoshop to use as a compositional reference)
--My cup of tea (now it is white or green tea, since I need a steady hand at this stage)
--My inks for painting
--Blending medium (for extending the drying time of the inks)
--Masking
Fluid (This is a special liquid use to mark off areas of the painting
that I don't want the ink to cover. Perhaps I want to reserve white in
places. I can brush the masking fluid on and let it dry. Then I can
paint all over it. When I am done, I simply rub the masking fluid off
and the the area it covered is untouched by the ink. I can paint that
area or leave it white.)
--Spray mister (to keep my palette wet so the inks don't dry out)
--Jar of water with my brushes in it
--Small jars of mixed colors
--Watersoluble Ink Pencils (These come in handy for very tiny details, as this painting is only 5 x 7")
--My mixing palette
--Paper
towels (These are made from 100% recycled materials. I try to reuse
them many times. Since once the ink dries it is permanent, I can re-wet
the paper towel and don't have to worry about the ink running.)
The
length of the Creation Stage various depending the painting. Some
paintings can take weeks or months to complete, others only a few days.
Usually, the smaller pieces take less time. But, if I am doing a lot of
glazing work, the time to finish a piece can be significantly longer
due to the drying time required between layers.
I am adding the
finishing touches to the Goose painting now, and I will be posting the
final piece in a few days. Be sure to check back to see the result. At
that time, I will also share the background information about the Goose
and why I chose it as a subject.
DoAn
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