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.
Tags: alchemy, angel, ardgroom, black star, black stone, bone singer, calcinatio, calcination, canvas, duende, fire, heaven, lead, magnum opus, nigredo, pen and ink, prima materia, saturn, seven, sketch book, stone, susanne iles
4 Responses to “From Chicken Bones to Angel Wings”
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If you have seen any of the Indiana Jones movies, you know that Jones carries a small notebook filled with information about his travels and observations. It also contains quite a few sketches. There was a time, I think, when such notebooks were common, for I seemed to run across them a lot in the novels and biographies I read while in high school.
I always marvelled at the sketches, for the men making them weren’t artists. I was always jealous of the ability of non-artists to draw so well that the people and places were recognizable. In my imagination, I expected that when I graduated from college, I would keep such a book about the novels and stories I planned to write.
As it turns out, I’m too disorganized to take notes, much less learn how to draw. Yet, from strange sources, notes and ideas do come to mind. Sketches, too. But they’re all virtual, residing in a probable book in a probable universe where dreams and shaman’s journeys occur. That mental book is my drawing board, so to speak. It’s not as romantic as the little books carried by Indiana Jones, but it seems to work in a similar fashion to your drawings and doodles.
Malcolm
P.S. I think you already know where that angel landed.
@Malcom..the thoughtfulness of your comments always inspires me. When I read your blog and your books I can see that you don’t need to carry a physical notebook.I’ve often wondered if you have an eidetic memory; the quality of your words and your ability to weave the finest details into your prose eschews any need for a sketchbook.Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by.
I enjoy your sketchbook process a great deal. I used to work in my sketchbooks quite a bit, but I’m not nearly as good as you are. Maybe I should pull out the empty ones I have and play anyway. You’ve given me a dose of “play time” inspiration.
[...] recently shared with you the preliminary sketches of the painting, Calcinatio Angelus. In these photos you can see how I moved from sketch to [...]