For Artists Who Love the Outdoors
Wurtzburg Torte
The Art of Knowing
I believe that a good painting begins even before the first brush stroke. It has its roots inside the artist; in their internal vision and their courage to recognize an origin that only they perceive.
What causes an images to stay in our minds? Looking back through the 300 plus photos we took on our river cruise, I find myself drawn to some moments and not to others. Right now I have six or seven photos before me which have identified themselves to me, and I have already painted six scenes from that cruise which also spoke to me. What do I mean by ' identifying themselves to me'? I find it difficult to describe, but the image finds a way into my conscious and unconscious mind so that I begin to know it, and the longer that image stays with me, the stronger that feeling is. In part it is to do with my knowledge of the elements of design; I know that too. When I first saw that image in life, I took a picture or several, and now in reflection, I look to recapture the feeling I had when I took the pictures. Some basic elements of design spoke to me then, and are reforming themselves by my seeing the photo now, three months later. Sometimes, though, it's somethng within the photo I decide to pull out, something perhaps I wasn't even aware of when I took the picture, but which now reveals itself to me as having potential. And here I need to create a connection which may not have been there in the original.
What constitutes knowing? Knowing is definitely personal, and it goes deeper than just identification. There are feelings attached to knowing -memories, senses, a narrative, life itself. There are also the intervening happenings which colour that moment, which give it a richness, a sense of time and timelessness. To know something is to have lived it, to have reflected on it, and elevated that moment to an iconic state. The moments in our life which we know are ones that become intrinsically linked to our past and present.
I'm obviously writing about studio work here, where I have time to concentrate on images which reflect my thoughts and feelings. It's also possible to have this occur in plein air situations, although I have moved away from that aspect of my work lately. I hope to return to it in the spring, but in the meantime, I've found a richness in studio art which is giving me a great deal of pleasure and fulfillment. Knowing my subjects and finding ways to bring out that knowing in my paintings is very gratifying when it works. When it doesn't work, I realize now that I have to clarify what it is I thought I knew about that image. Success or failure really depend on what I know about my art, not just my technical ability.
In the Prince Bishop's Courtyard
