The struggle.
'All artists are willing to suffer for their art, but why are so few willing to learn to draw' Banksy
I read this statement on a social media post and it got me thinking - am I lazy? Do I settle for mediocre inaccurate work?
I think that many non-painters see the production of pictures as a whimsical act in which the artist has an idea which is then transferred to the canvas effortlessly through a few deft flicks of the brush. Nothing could be further from the truth in my case. I occasionally have an idea of what I want to paint, but more often than not I have to wrack my brains and scour my banks of images to 'see' a potential painting. Even deciding on what is or isn't a good composition seems to be a minefield. 'Do I follow the established rules, the golden section, thirds etc or is this just being predictably conventional?' Once I've settled on a composition the struggle isn't over. Planning out the painting, drawing the image presents a miriad of problems. How much detail do I need? How accurate do I want the image to be? If I'm struggling to get a part of the image correctly drawn how often should I re-draw it? Can I get away with it? Clearly not according to the opening statement!
The subject of colour brings the struggle to a whole new level! I like colour, and it often beguiles me into slapping on improbable and unrealistic hues. Only when I look at the painting a few weeks down the line do I realise how wrong my initial choices were. To overcome this I've tried to research colour theory and the rules for harmony, but here we are again following rules. Doesn't a good artist break the rules? Does this mean I'm not truly being creative?
The process of creating a painting is in my case a struggle from beginning to end. I wrestle with the media to try and achieve results that better artists must surely reach with ease (in truth they're probably going through the same turmoil as me!). Eventually the painting and I reach a sort of stalemate, a point where I can't really proclaim that I've tamed it, but at least to my eye, it appears correct. Of course, it's never quite how I wanted it to be and there's always a hint of disapointment, but there is always a solution to this. Try again! The next one will be better!
I'd love to hear if anyone else feels the same.
