Falling feathers keep cropping up in my work these days. After they showed up on the slip for City of Hope I have felt compelled to paint them into 3 more pieces thus far.
My work is usually like this. Some image will pull on me heavily, taunting my muse with its mystery until I can unravel what it truly means. But usually by that time, the paint is already dry.
I’ve often felt that I was a “backwards” artist because of this. So many times I’ve overheard artists talk about their process where the “meaning” and the “why” has come first for them. How do they do it?? Whenever I try to make a statement first and then paint to that statement I feel that my work isn’t as strong. I actually feel that is what happened to my last show. It’s only when I let go and follow the breadcrumbs of imagery flashes from dreams into the dark woods that I can reach that blissful moment of magic. When a piece comes together before my eyes and I wonder where it came from.
And wonder I do.
The imagery breadcrumbs that have been following me lately have been:
Feathers
Bones
Bees
Prayer Flags
Arrows
I wonder I wonder…
The past long weekend was halfway spent with family & friends and halfway spent with the studio trying to sort these images out into paintings. Yesterday morning I woke up with a craving for the dark woods so intense I had no choice but to step out to the closest place I could and walk among the trees. It is part and parcel of the process. There isn’t much to show for it yet but whispers and daydreams.
And falling feathers.
No comments:
Post a Comment