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“What you do when you paint, you take a brush full of paint, get paint on the picture, and you have faith.”
Willem DeKooning, Artist

The Journey

You begin a new creative project.

You try things. React. Assess. Try something else. Make mistakes. Correct. Redo.

You make decisions, one at a time.

Your image begins to appear, emerge, disappear, reappear, change, start to look good, change again, not look so good, you try something else and it begins to look better.

You try to detach from the outcome by focusing on process. You stave off being precious and becoming timid with it by getting involved in the journey and the search for the magical balance.

You are searching for the right line, shape, color, value, edge and texture.

This searching becomes part of the finished piece and the history of its creation.

A painting or drawing’s underpinnings are an integral part of the finished work.

The sense of life beneath the surface is a positive enrichment to the piece.

You accept the challenges and struggles of the creating process and you create anyway.

You are always on the lookout for the happy accidents, the discoveries, the surprises, and the ah-ha moments that may change your picture for the better.

You are propelled forward.

Wherever your brush, pencil, charcoal or pastel goes, that’s where you are today.

You trust your current skills and talents.

You look for what could be, instead of just seeing what is.

You are open to the thing that you are creating being about something you did not expect or taking you places you did not expect to go.

Ultimately, you find your way through to resolution by trial and error.

Best,

David

[SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA]