I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.
-Pablo Picasso
When I begin to paint, I move into a world of complete creative freedom. What will my painting become? I am on a journey without any clear destination and the paints, the canvas, the brushstrokes, and the combined energy that emanates from my tools and me, propels the work into the unknown where I trust I will find my way to wherever I am supposed to go. I like not having a clear destination in sight. The unexpected is exciting.
I sail through luminescent swirls and enter domains of rhythmic energy and brilliant color. Surprised by what I discover en route, I experience no consternation. Anything can be …it is all such a mystery. I trust the process and have found that doing so, being optimistic about the outcome, is generally a dependable moodprint. I move into my painting – or my writing – and allow myself to be lead to wherever the creative process decides to go. The route is seldom direct but deviates frequently and is quite circumlocutory. I never know how long it will take. It doesn’t matter even though often the route is much longer than I anticipated. But I do get there…eventually.
I love the uncensored discovery of my expeditions in painting – the ongoing mystery of the process. Just what will it become as the vague transforms into the aesthetic? Most creative people, “translate their hunches into reality by removing conscious control and allowing images, instincts, feelings, into their own awareness. They acknowledge what’s within and invite out those images and feelings that inhabit the interior worlds of their minds.” (HAVE YOU EVER HAD A HUNCH? The Importance of Creative Thinking)
I choose to paint intuitively. I trust that Within my Imagination, Gardens will Bloom as they will for you too, if you water, nurture, and tend to the creative possibilities within you, lovingly. This roughly five-minute video, Within Your Imagination, Gardens Bloom, takes you into the process of painting intuitively.
I love the way you move about your paintings effortlessly and each time I see one of them, I see and feel something different.
I don’t know how you managed to communicate a philosophy of your painting in five and a half minutes, but you did, and in a natural, accessible, and profound way.
Amazingly explained, Ellen! In many ways your philosophy is very Zen, starting with the present moment and allowing things to grow organically and intuitively, inviting the onlooker to also participate by merely looking and being aware.
Good to remind us all of the importance of audience. Art is a form of communication. If it isn’t perceived by someone, it doesn’t fully exist. I enjoyed the segment concerning the individual, small paintings across a single canvas. It made me want to get a little frame and slide it around on the painting. Maybe you can devise a way for a viewer to to that without actually touching the canvas.
Thank you, Eric Cosh, Juanita Havill, Maryanne Kremer-Ames and Lisa Miller for all your thoughtful comments.