Category: Reflections

Create like nobody is watching

So often “creative people” speak of their inability to make works of “art”, and attribute it to a block of sorts.  It is true that there are ebbs and flows in one’s ability to be productive.  Our level of engagement in our practice is always a reflection of our current setting and circumstance.  Over the past year much of the globe has been in lockdown or self-imposed quarantine due to outbreaks in communities and countries.

The level of anxiety in this current state can have a direct correlation in our overall sense of purpose.  The general malaise can at times be crippling to the point that it even effects everyday simple tasks.

But what if we are living in somewhat prosperous times and society in general isn’t this state of the unknown? What if you believe that all is good in your world, and that for the most part you are content, but are still struggling to create?

The first thing one must ask is what is the purpose of your pursuit of your creative endeavours?  Being creative in many ways is a solitary pursuit and in some respects a bit self indulgent.  But the need to create is compelling and in many ways may define you.

Between the adrenaline and the satisfaction of a resolved work and the recognition that comes from your efforts we find strength to push forward.

However, looking at the other side of the coin we could encounter a lack of reception to the work, both in social media platforms and in gallery exhibitions.  This also can at times play into the sense of the “block”.

The artist block is not a factor for those that casually make art when they just feel the urge.  Although it is important to express one’s self, and it can be enjoyable, I would suggest the casual urge to make is relegated to the hobbyist.  That is quite different then someone who has invested a considerable amount of time and effort to the discipline, who has actively been trying to refine both their vision and skill sets and chasing a dream.

I think sometimes the block is based on thinking that everything must be somehow unique and different, somehow it is “cutting edge” or it is pointless to make. It is difficult to be creative all the time, we can not always be on, but we need to be on more often then off.

If we focused on the authentic self and what is most important to us, then the work can come, even in difficult times.  So much of our experiences are universal and those observations and moments are shared by so many.  The universality of lived experiences and observations does not dimmish the importance of your voice. In fact, it legitimises the act.

Sometimes the act of just putting marks down in a subconscious way can unlock our creativity.  Remember a writer needs to write everyday a musician must pick up their instrument, it is no different.  Determination and desire are what drives us, and although we can’t always be running on high octane we can at least continue to try and move forward and be open to where our creativity can take us.  

Create like nobody is watching, turn inward and focus on what your genuine concerns are, recognize how potentially everything in our world is shaping how we carry ourselves, and how we project our observations and concerns because we found value in them.

A final thought on the artistic block.

People offer strategies of how to overcome a ‘block”, they speak of strategies like creating a workstation in advance, laying out all the equipment or tools to create.  Whether that be paints, pencils etc., having the materials at your disposal in advance, reduces strains to create when the “moment is right”.  I would be curious to know how you deal with your blocks.

The notion of the muse for creative people has a long-standing tradition. When some speak of their muse it is acknowledged that it not only inspires them to create; but is a conduit to channel ideas that reveal their creative impulses. In some cases, the muse can inform a concern and or direction purely based one’s world view. It is safe to say that all aspects of an artist’s production are influenced by so many cultural touchstones including media.

Sometimes the muse is a person that is a love interest, the image of that person litters the creative landscape. We find an almost insatiable desire to adorn that person in all environments, whether it be a domestic scene or one that includes dream like or fantasy scenarios. A personal love interest can at times become a stylization in the hand of the artist, the person can become an architype. Having been so immersed in a relationship and having studied their love. It is the evolution of their relationship, which is reflected in the work produced.

 The romanticization of another can also be an infatuation or a secret love unbeknownst to the other. The poet Dante’s devotion and infatuation of Beatrice is a prime example of unrequited love. Dante Alighieri had loved her from afar, and when she passed away at an early age, he imbued a sense of divinity to her. The Divine Comedy finds Beatrice as one of the guides who assist him through his journey in his work the Divine Comedy.

The muse can also be found in nature or the landscape. The impulse to create works that speak of a yearning of places and or as a symbol to express the power of a higher being. The majestic power of nature and our own sense of place in the world can often be a concern for some artists. The 19^th century German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich is a perfect example of an artist that not only created landscapes but often had lone figures included in the composition. Friedrich was concerned with spirituality and the sublime, an examination of the spiritual self through the contemplation of nature. His painting Monk by The Sea of 1810, channels the forces of the sky as well as the sea with a diminutive figure looking at the great power of nature.

Regardless of the muse’s origin whether it be intangible notions or those that are concrete; be it figurative, or those found in nature. It is this relationship with our senses and the underpinning of emotions that compel us to create.

In many ways the muse is a way to not only channel creativity but also inspire a continued body of work that could encompasses one’s entire creative life. In many ways the muse is an obsession that is always at the forefront of an artist’s output. It gives a person focus and in many ways the springboard for self expression. The next time you feel unmotivated to create think of the influences that drive your creative output. If you find you continue to keep making what appears to be the same thing repeatedly, embrace it for what it is. You could be very much still exploring; don’t feel you need to be clever or create something “new”. In time it will reveal itself to you in your body of work and branch off in places you might never had suspected you would venture.

Inktober was created by Jake Parker in 2009.  Mr. Parker is a both a comics short story illustrator, concept artist and animation professional. Initially he began the challenge for himself to improve his inking skills.  This daily challenge manifested itself into the worldwide phenomena known as inktober.  The rules are simple, a list of drawing prompts (words) are posted and your task is to create a drawing based on that word in ink.  You can initially create the drawing in pencil if you desire.  Once it is completed you would post it on social media platforms using the following hashtag #inktober and the corresponding day and word prompt.  Sound easy enough right?

For myself I made a conscious effort not to labour the actual time I took to create an image, on average I would spend no more then 45 minutes.  I would consider an idea that would reflect the word prompt during my day and on occasion create quick thumbnail compositions.  Part of this exercise was to move away from the obvious connotations a word would invoke visually.  The real challenge was in pushing past the obvious and channel one’s creativity.  Much of my creative process is framed around two words that I always come back to (what if).  When the creative process is somewhat restricted by a word imposed, the challenge can be more difficult.  However, the challenge also was intended to have people become more active and consistent in their creative output.

The act of creating everyday is something that needs to be done if you intend to chase this as a profession vs a hobby.  The stamina and determination to work and overcome obstacles and juggling daily life are always going to be at odds with the time you can afford yourself for your creative pursuits.  In no way am I suggesting that a new piece of art needs to be completed each day.  To create a complex and skillful sculpture, drawing or painting you will not be able to resolve it in one day, but the commitment to find the time each day to work on it is a demand that needs to be met if we expect to create a body of work over time.

Creating a drawing each day is easier said then done many submissions posted looked like copies of something I could find in a google image search, which is fine for a beginner I guess because they are limited in their experience and are at least trying to live up to the challenge, which is a good thing.  Many people I know fell off the daily challenge, and admitted it was harder to do then they imagined and resolved to make it happen next year.

Not all the images I developed were equally successful, but I found myself surprised by some of the outcomes.  I chuckled as I completed them and found a lot of fun in both creating and sharing my efforts.  In some cases, some of the ideas I will return to and redo in another medium perhaps and afford myself the time to refine the concept.  In the end this was an exercise in unpacking breaking down a word and coming out the other side with hopefully a new and refreshing visual image.  Inktober was both fun and challenging and something I would recommend to all.  Heck why wait till next year, try to draw daily now based on a set of words that would go the entire month, I dare you!

Check out my Instagram feed to view my creations for Inktober 2018.

Narrative influences first came to the forefront of my artwork because of my attraction to the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of English painters, The brotherhood sought a return to the intricate detail, intense colours and complex compositions of Italian art, prior to the influences of the Mannerist movement. I was influenced especially by the works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, of which was heavily influenced by the poet Dante Alighieri as well as stories from mythology.

As my understanding and appreciation for art expanded, so did my approach. I was still heavily influenced by the symbolist movement as well as philosophy and poetry. Works by Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch seemed to dominate my fascination as well as Caspar David Friedrich to name just a few. All of these artists imbued a sense of the narrative, whether it dealt with melancholy themes or the sublime found in the landscape.

It almost always had figures in the work that perhaps suggested the presence of the artist sometimes in the guise of another rather than a self portrait. Whether it be Friedrich’s Monk By The Sea, or Munch’s The Sick Child. “I want to keep my sufferings. They are part of me and my art” (Munch).

In many ways the figures I developed in the past became shorthand/symbols of the self and I constructed narratives for my characters to occupy. There were times they would encounter great devotion and at times were pitted behind themes of melancholy and loss. I tried to remove facial features in an effort to disengage myself from my work. No longer did I want these archetypal characters to be restricted or a reflection of me.

Often they do not face the viewer or I would intentionally crop them so they would become more universally understood. But this notion of impeding loss seemed to be at the forefront in so many occasions. The narrative is almost always at play and the use of symbolism is still apparent. I pondered about if it was the fatalist in me that struggles with relationships or my place in the world. Was it about dissatisfaction and the foolish notions of wanting more?

Perhaps all moments are distractions from the act of self reflection; we can look at some events with great nostalgia and joy. But there tends to be a vacuum that we continue to fill in an effort to be whole. For some it is the endless consumption of products that avoid the stillness reflection requires, and even after indulging in these experiences/objects we tire of them and add them to the pile of other objects we have neglected.

I have tried to venture towards abstraction, but still return to the figure and a sense of narrative in my work. Perhaps this is a reflection of my authentic self, something I can’t hide from, something I just need to accept and hope for an audience that finds worth in my pursuits.

How guarded should one be about ideas and emotions when creating works of art. Is the purpose of art to project all our experiences, in an effort to “heal”. Is the creative desire to communicate personal matters or experiences that powerful a motivator? What is the true nature of visual art? Trying to define what art is will not be the purpose of this reflection. We have struggled with what qualifies as art for nearly as long as there have been patrons who would invest in it. Movements in the 20^th century actively tried to dismantle and dissect it, ism after ism, manifesto after manifesto.

Some would argue that art is best suited for social unrest or to at the very least be used as a method to challenge the status quo. It seeks to question both authority and the white washed sense of morality some “leaders” impose on its citizens. Leaving marginalized sectors out of a particular community and the global community as a whole.  A society that does not consider the “other” lacks a sense of unity.  Sometimes the very same group who at one time suffered great injustice tips the scales too far back, substituting one subversive group for another. A society falls into a pit of political correctives.

I think that at the end of the day our own personal inclinations/agenda has a great bearing on one’s production. Perhaps the work we create is in truth a window into how the world affects us. Sometimes it is based on experiences in our formative years. Not all works are serious and full of melancholy; some artists are quite humorous in their work. A sense of levity and humour can be a refreshing approach. At other times some make works that are kinetic or encourage an audience’s participation.

Being creative regardless of the particular stream is at times both liberating and cathartic. We can escape from the world and create a new one, our worst fears or our greatest hopes reside in our attempts at self expression and they play themselves out in our body of work. It would be a foolish and futile exercise to always look at what is in fashion and try to make work that is in that vein.

That is not to say that looking at contemporary works is a bad thing, it is just another consideration, like all experiences. We observe and distill aspects of our contemporaries in the same way we can be receptive to contemporary society including the political climate. If the concern is genuine, no matter what it happens to be, then we will have both the desire and determination to explore the concern. I would argue that it is then when we are demonstrating our authentic self.

I often wonder why particular themes and motifs manifest themselves in an artist’s work with an almost predictable frequency. Is some of this really about formative influences? Or is it us trying to emulate a particular artists’ sentiment; or approach to art production, perhaps our understanding or appreciation of particular styles or genres?

Can a particular theme based on personal experience have a lasting effect on the act of making? Could how our thoughts and purpose of art in our formative years carry us through a lifetime’s approach of our creative struggle? Can experiences either good or bad shape our world view and permeate our expressions in visual art?

The universality of human experiences leads us all down this same narrow arduous path. Some paths diverge based on specific experiences but if we were to look back and reflect we would find those experiences to be shared with others as well if not by all. I don’t seek to be clever or somehow believe I need to be this revolutionary maker of things. I don’t think I am creating work that reveals itself to the world for the first time. I cannot presume to be so pompous.   I can only hope to provide a connection to the viewer that is both relatable in their own lives, or the lives of others they know.

Why do I have a propensity to revisit particular themes and create it repeatedly? Is it because I haven’t truly resolved my fascination with it? Can an artist spend their whole life creating still life works or the landscape for example? Not because of habit but because they are trying to glean some sense of purpose in the subject matter? The question why always seems to pervade the creative process, when we create a body of work it can speak to us. It is in this moment that we must address the preoccupation; it is in this moment we must push past the obvious in order to better understand the impulse. Sometimes we don’t fully understand the marks we make, or why we construct the compositions, they are at the end of the day a projection of the interior of our mind that manifests itself in the world.

In my post secondary school years I was exposed to so many more movements and art periods, my appreciation went beyond symbolism and romantic movements.  It opened up the world of abstraction, and the subversive as well. This walk through both contemporary and historical appreciation for visual arts shaped my approach. We cannot continue to maintain idealized views of what it means to make art in the face of these new considerations. Can we, should we?

Is it wrong to dismiss the underpinnings of any movement or consideration that anyone of us feels motivated to explore? Can we attribute our own personal aesthetic as a way to legitimize another’s efforts, and do we have the right? How does one measure success, is it in the adulation of our peers or the public in general or does it come from within our personal view of growth? These are hard questions to reconcile. In the end create for the sake of making, create and hope the motifs resolve themselves and if they don’t, then embrace them for what they are. They are at the end of the day a reflection of your inner most thoughts and concerns.

My recent work has progressed from narrative representational pieces that involve the figure to images devoid of any moment in time or theme. This development is perhaps a reaction to current experiences in life or a natural progression, I am not entirely sure.

To some measure abstraction or non-objective works allow for distance between my personal experiences and view of the world. Visual art for me has always been a format of expression and communicating ideas or experiences. This cathartic work also takes a toll on one’s psyche. In some ways abstraction allows me to distance myself from the marks I make. Yet all the formal qualities of line, form and composition still pervade my practice.

The development of patterned drawings, which I started just over a year ago seem to have been a watershed moment in my creative life. I could make marks for the sake of just drawing, however soon the figure emerged once again and the narratives began to flow back into my work. At times I feel that I am wrestling with two distinctly different paths. Yet this transition has nothing to do with reinventing myself or looking for what might be commercially viable. I create works as an extension of myself and my concerns.

Picasso was an accomplished “academic” artist long before he began his abstracted works and lived in an age that questioned the purpose of art, in the face of technology that made documenting our world more accessible. Matisse proclaimed that we must know the rules before we break them. Abstraction allows the lay person an outlet and the confidence to be creative, but not all abstraction is equal in its effectiveness. Many tend to dismiss Jackson Pollock’s’ artwork as something anyone can do, yet so often I have seen failed attempts to capture his understanding of gestural mark making found in his paintings, drips seem to pervade so many abstract paintings.

For this reason, I have in the past intentionally avoided creating abstraction. All the experiences of the years of the creative pursuit and refining my skill have led me to this cross road. Creating compelling abstraction is not an easy feat.

These abstracted forms are meditative in some respect, they begin as gestures of line that create shapes that are then filled using a limited colour scheme. I am creating forms through the application of the drawing medium whether it is just graphite or coloured pencil. It’s almost like a dance between my gestures and the substrate and these forms evolve into anthropomorphic objects. I am not sure how long this path will continue. But in an effort to evolve and not to pigeon hole myself or appear to be a one trick pony I will continue to explore this approach for now.