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watercolour on canvas |
Jarl Ingvarsson, a Swedish artist, said in an interview I read years ago that his best impulses or ideas come when he has spent sufficient time in the studio to start feeling a bit bored. If I remember it right he said he then would be more free as he wouldn't care so much. He could do whatever. (this could very much be me making it up - in that case: Sorry)
Last year I listened to a great artist talk with David Batchelor (an artist I admire very much) and among other things he talked about how he got his ideas in his studio. His art might seem very conceptual, but studio work - or real life experience of materials - is essential to him. By seeing things in his studio piled up on a shelf, or a brightly colored canvas lying temporarily in a certain way, he got his ideas. Just by seeing things that might be by coincident, or seeing things with new eyes. (It's not "just" though. It takes a certain talent.)
I've lately been getting really frustrated in my studio because I felt like I'm not advancing, I need something more to my art to make it better and in order to get more interested in what I'm working with. In some ways I felt bored with it, even though I have had occasional moments of flow. A bit like; "yes, sure a nice painting ... but shouldn't it be more to it? The same thing again... Am I in the 19th century?" For me frustration is good - if I have the time to explore it. I will go a bit wild then, more courageous.
Cutting things up can be a way - I tried it and laughed a bit, but felt like there should be more to it than that. Changing materials a bit can be a way. So I tried painting watercolor on canvas instead. And bigger. Didn't really do it, but I felt a bit better. Then I tried something else and got a fantastic surprise side effect. I'm very hopeful now. Could this be it? Tomorrow I'll get some advice from an artist working with glass - and then I'll hopefully know if I can recreate what I'm after. Anyway I'm on a new track now. I can feel it
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