Outside / Studio: Finishing a Painting
For me painting outdoors has its own dictates: Embracing a singular sensory experience with appreciation and a joyous, humble, open spirit. Feeling the day and being aware of how different it is from any other. Connecting in a way outside of my conscious self, which
allows the world to speak for itself.
When this happens the canvas is not simply a picture but a record of a higher experience.
This connection to spirit has little to do with finish or completion.
It is why I don't push to finish a painting in the field.
When back in the studio I have to be wary of my conscious, ego- self; the one, which thinks, he "knows" things.
It takes me a couple of days before I can get myself to even touch the canvases - to go from a spirit place to a mind space - they are that different.
I desperately don't want to screw up the unself-conscious magic.
Abdicating total control is key.
So I let the canvas tell me what it needs. And if I am patient, it will become clear what needs to be done without marring the power of the original impulse.
I try and stay away from photography because it brings me back to a world of too much information and I want the painting to feel like a painting.
Visual poetry necessitates clarity of voice and economy of means.
When Distillation, Edit and Selection are the Children of Spirit - Real Magic can happen.
