Texture

What do you see? What do you look for as you wander?

I look at the gradients of the levels when I look at mountains. The spires of the peaks that are striking. The contrasts of colors between the rocks and the sky. The crisp new growth on the plants with brilliant colors of flowers.

In looking, I look at the textures between them all. Darks, lights, rounded and sharp edges all play into how those textures play a factor in setting a mood.

All of this pushes me to use texture in my paintings. That texture is that visceral feeling when you look at that piece of art and say, “Oh, Wow”. To do texture I use knives, credit cards, rollers, wax paper and brushes. If I don’t like it, I can always paint over or scrape off. It’s using the tools you have to get the illusion or image you want.

Interpretations

What we interpret from nature…

As an artist, I’m always looking at what I see when I’m in nature. I love to hike, walk in the woods, paddle on the river. By doing all of these things, I have a front row to the world around us. By listening to the wind through the trees, water gurgling by, birds calling and the twigs snapping, gives me ideas about what I want to put down with paint, crayon, chalk or graphite. All of these things help me with my interpretation of what I see. What one person sees is not necessarily what another person sees.

We all have our interpretations.

In an art class one time, the instructor said if you paint exactly what you see, you may as well take a photograph and not put paint to canvas. I was insulted by that statement. Because some of my paintings were what I saw and I thought that they were quite good. But, another artist and I were talking about this - she said, it was my interpretation of what I saw and that is perfectly okay and I shouldn’t worry about it.

In a simple statement, again “We all have our interpretations”.

Use them and create something.

Inspiration

What is one's inspiration?

This is a question that was asked this last weekend at an show. To be honest, I’ve not been asked that. Most of the pieces that I do, come out of mine or friends ramblings and wanderings through nature. I sometimes paint right there in the environment and sometimes I take pictures and use those as inspiration.

Sometimes, it’s just the fact that I want to experiment and experience paint, application of paint to show the feelings that I have at the time.

To get a reaction from my work is another inspiration. It’s that - Woah! Cool! Or even Huh?!? Reactions are what helps me to refine whatever it is and whether I want to do something similar again.

Art is emotional. It will elicit a visceral response that ranges through all of the positive, vulnerable and negative emotions. Just that.