5/30/08

This Just Happened...





As I was painting the other day, I stopped because I just wasn't getting anywhere. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, I stopped and looked at the paper, just trying to figure out what to do with it. I sat there at my art table for several minutes trying to make this paper into something I wanted it to be and found nothing working. So, out of frustration, I asked the paper "What am I supposed to do with you? I just can't seem to get it right!" Before my eyes it was revelaed to me. On the paper was the face of a person. He was a very simple person, with glasses and a long face. I began drawing him. Then his name came, then his story came. It has happened with all of these characters.They just appear on the paper, and I follow what it says to me.

You guys think I'm more weird than you had originally figured...I know...but stop and think about it. Is it not the way of our ancestors who listened with their hearts and not their heads? Who listened to nature, who listened with that part of them, their gut, their spirit to lead them in whatever endevour they were doing?

I have found that when I listen, I know what to do. I know what
to do with paint, with my kids, with my health, with my life it is the
artistry of life. If I listen, the art happens.

What do you think about this piece? How does it move you? Or does it move you at all?
Does this piece invite you to look at more of my work? Let me know in the comments section of this blog! Don't be shy, I welcome all constructive criticism!

12 comments:

Jean Levert Hood said...

oh, Van, I can't tell you how often a painting 'speaks to me!!' Exciting, isn't it!!

Katzie said...

I can definitely relate Van. I have days when I stare at beads until something comes to me. I make, take appart, make again, over and over. I think it's the creative process.
Your work is Fab!

Chauncey said...

Van, this guys are really fun. The names the look, the backstory, all of it. Whatever process works!

Zuda Gay Pease said...

I love the faces, and your stories of who they are. I love it when it just happens like this....I also love it when the image pops in my head and I just have to make it, as well. Isn't the creative process a marvelous thing?

Rose said...

I think your blog is right on and insightful Brett.
When we just vibe with the energy of Mom Nature "like our ancestors"... we are in the flow, hooked into the ONE, the creative source.

You write very well...

Kate Ladd Art said...

The faces and stories will keep evolving - it's right brain art, and so much fun when it happens.
And the results are so much better than when everything is planned out in advance.

dianeclancy said...

Hi Brett,

I really like the yellow and blue face - I have been appreciating it since I saw it .. very nice!!

Yes, I ask paintings (when I remember) what they want me to reveal.

~ Diane Clancy
www.DianeClancy.com/blog
www.YourArtMarketing.com

Anonymous said...

Brett, never question your Muse! These are so creative and their stories are so amusing. Isn't the feeling you get after completing one awesome....you know..the "I did that?" feeling. Keep up the great work my friend! Joni
p.s. Had to do this annomously, Google isn't taking my pass word even though it is correct!

blazingneedles said...

Loved reading your blog! And you are right. I stare at things for quite a while before I start ... and then they speak to me.

AltheaP said...

I've always loved what I heard Tom Petty say in an interview: "The songs are out there in the air . . . sometimes I catch one."

Automatic writing, automatic painting, automatic music of the spheres!

The Filigree Garden said...

I love what you wrote about listening and following the flow. That is so true and so hard to do sometimes when we want to force things to happen a certain way. Your faces are compelling and full of emotion. It will be fun to see what they have to say in the future. Keep listening!

Jill said...

Brettski!!, You're right about asking the paper what it wants to be. I sometimes do that when I'm painting a design on a ceramic piece. And then, all of a sudden, I can paint it!!