Saturday, March 7, 2009

Racing start two - step VI... a monument raised to unspontaneous spontaneity!

The painting process for this painting was the antithesis of freedom in art, a prime objective of mine.

Nonetheless, it gave me more than ever a taste for that freedom...

Now back to the third painting from this series, which at this stage looks like a trophy from my short-lived athletic career, 30 years ago! Got to inject some pizazz in that sleeper of a background... results can be viewed in the slide show on the right (still fairly tamed but a little better in my view).

Note to self: " Where is freedom in art?... Between watery dripping paint and opaque impasto paint? Between pure colors and mixed colors? Between smooth transitions and calligraphic brush strokes? Between systematic painting and loose style painting? Between pure technique and painting as if writing? Between working on paper and working on canvas? Between total abandon and full control? Between formula painting and beginner's mind painting? Between intuitive and cerebral painting? Between abstraction and figuration? Between a focus on process and a focus on the end result? Between planning and improvisation? Between glazing and alla prima painting? ... I suspect freedom is taking whatever avenue it takes to to illustrate one's vision from the moment the brush hits the canvas with no preoccupation with style, and with the spirit of no-mind to borrow from Zen philosophy!"

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