There are so many possibilities, it’s downright incredible.
-Gerhard Richter
I generally begin to paint without a set direction because I trust that I will know when it feels right. So when I begin, I sideline my conscious brain and let my intuition take over. I exclude conscious interference. I find this creative journey wondrously mysterious and exciting. It’s a journey into the unknown and into an abundance of possibilities.
I encourage you when you paint or engage in other forms of creativity, to give yourself permission at times, to suspend any preplanning or judgment during your creative process. I encourage you to disallow your conscious mind to be at the center of your activities. It is great fun to let intuition be your driving force. I know that from experience.That is how I paint with tremendous enjoyment and little consternation. Invariably, what was vague in the beginning, transforms into an unexpected, pleasing, and mysterious, aesthetic form.
Creativity is about being receptive, initially, to the unexpected, taking risks, and knowing that you will make mistakes and fix them. Creative people make more mistakes than others because they try more things. As Albert Einstein said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” So reserve any critical examination for later.
“We need to listen to our instincts or hunches. We need to follow them because they excite us to enter new creative worlds. They direct us to embrace initially intimidating, but challenging projects. They give our lives the richness of experiences…they are starting points of our creativity.” (HAVE YOU EVER HAD A HUNCH? The Importance of Creative Thinking).
So when I paint intuitively, I disappear into the magical communication between my materials and me. I remove any conscious control and allow images, instincts, feelings, into their own awareness. The journey is exciting. I never know where it will take me. Here is a short video about painting intuitively:
This video and your description of your art process is so encouraging. I can’t imagine anyone who sees and hears you not wanting to pick up some paints and brushes and “go to it”. Your art has fun written all over it, and whats more it’s about rhythm and harmony too. All the shapes and colors are in harmony with each other. Thanks for this encouraging video, Ellen.
Dede
I guess artists must create “in their own way”. Ellen’s way is admirable and could (and probably does) serve as a catalyst for some to explore creative possibilities using Ellen’s approach. This contemporary expressionist vision is indeed full of fun, as noted by Dede Harris, but intensive hard work is obviously involved. It looks easy, but finding the right answers requires experience and patience. My mentor, an Italian immigrant from Italy who spoke little English, said “whatever you do, do it with love”. Could this be added to Ellen’s way?
You are right, Maurice. LOVE has everything to do with it. The hours, the days, the weeks or months it can take to bring a painting or creative project, to completion, recede in significance because of an individual’s passion, curiosity and joy in the actual doing. I firmly believe that there is no ownership of the creative process, no slavish adherence to the style of others – or of the day – but instead, a discovery of your own originality accompanied by hours of experimentation and practice. Joyfully discovering the possibilities of what you can do, is compelling. So I encourage, as Dede Harris says, people to enter their own art processes – follow their glimpses of possibilities and have fun while doing so. Many of Dede’s playful and profound welded sculptures have taken her months and years to complete. A DVD has been produced of her art and process (A HOLOCAUST TRILOGY Sculptor Dede Harris A NARRATIVE ART PROJECT available on SammytheJourney.com). The work of Maurice Kahn is highly individual. His drawings are masterful, marvelously intricate, often narrative and humorous – and there is always evidence of huge amounts of work, thought and profundity. His work ethic and aesthetic sensibilities, are reflected, also, in the many books he has written. I very much want people to discover their own creative individuality. The quote I included at the beginning of this blog by the legendary German painter, Gerhard Richter, reflects my own thoughts on creativity: “There are so many possibilities, it’s downright incredible.”