It is only with the heart that one sees rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery
When I paint, I abandon myself to the intuitive process and enter a state of uncensored discovery. I am simply present in the moment, open to surprises and trusting of whatever unfolds. It is a journey into mystery.
By freely entering these freshly originated, uncharted areas appearing in my emerging paintings, I am lead to the discovery of unexpected possibilities within the art that I am creating. But first there is my abandonment to the doing and then comes the perceiving. I look and I see opportunities for me… to explore, develop and enhance. New possibilities keep manifesting, Figures appear – a person from another period in history or from another time, perhaps. I glimpse people, animals, unknown fantastical creatures. I find this process compelling and don’t want to stop because each time I look afresh, I see more … and then I do more.
My viewers tell me that each time they look at my paintings, they see more and then more. How mysterious are these sudden visual appearances that seemingly hadn’t been there before! I don’t know what each person sees but I enjoy it when they tell me what they see…. a figure emerging in a forest, colors that vary with the changing light. Art is a collaborative creative process: the artist will do and the viewer will view. For both, it is a journey into mystery. As Perceptilly tells Spunktaneous in THE WORLD OF GLIMPSE:
I don’t know how you see gold…or pink…or any hue. Only you know.
The colors you perceive are entirely you, and each time you look, they’re different.
Depends on your moodprint which affects the glow you give to color.
Ellen, I love your paintings. There is no end to what one can discover.
Thank you, Gwen! For me, it is a Journey of Discovery.
a license to wander through the painted canvas … with no destiny in mind … a mystery … lovely Ellen!!
That’s right, Patty, “a license to wander” without a predetermined end painting in mind – that’s what’s so compelling about mysteries. Thanks for your comments!