I once met a man who was interested in the process I go through when organizing my ideas for a painting. He wondered whether I sketched detailed pictures on paper prior to transferring the images to canvas. The fact is, most of my paintings paint themselves, the details emerging as I draw directly onto the canvas itself. My sketchbook drawings are rarely detailed, but represent raw ideas, doodles, dreams and cartoons. They are spontaneous outbursts of ink on paper, waltzing across the pages if you will.
These rough drawings and sketches illustrate the first steps of a painting in my Magnum Opus series. It is entitled “Calcinatio Angelus” and is based on a dream I had about the first symbolic stage in alchemy. I dreamed of an angel who flew to the heavens to retrieve a black, seven pointed star containing a heart of purest gold. The angel had flown too high and, much like Icarus, plummeted to the earth still clutching the heavenly treasure. She landed somewhere in the hills near Ardgroom and I spent the rest of my dream searching for her.
As you can see, the sketchbook study for the actual painting shows just a hint of what will come. The paint colours will be chosen as the painting itself dictates its needs. It is the active dialogue, arguments and conversations I have with each painting that keeps my passion for art fresh and alive. Sometimes an angel sweeps in to inspire, sometimes it is El duende.
I just show up with a paintbrush in hand and join in the dance.
How do you express your creative spirit? What inspires or pushes you to move from idea into action? I’d love to hear about it.
