Painting is a series of choices, one after the other. {That’s right; it’s not in fact a unique and specialised form of personal torture.} For me those choices are made by ‘listening’ to the conversation that develops from each mark and brush stroke I lay down.
And because of this listen and respond approach, I never know where a painting will end up. It can only progress by me staying in the moment.
I’ve never been one for planning a painting, sketching first, or mixing and building up colours in the traditional way. I use colours straight from the tube; I mix on the canvas with brush, fingers and rags; I bring in new colours when I feel to; I mix my media; and although I sometimes use an image as an initial springboard, these days I abandon it after a few minutes and then begin to find my own way by feel.
Because of this ad hoc-ness, there will often come a point in a painting where I can see it’s not complete, or not working quite right, and since I don’t know where it’s going, I don’t know what to do. That is the moment for what I call…
The bold move
The bold move is what’s required at the moment where you have no clue what the painting needs to move forward. It almost always comes with a certain amount of trepidation; by it’s nature it could ruin everything you’ve done so far.
It’s a risk.
If I don’t take the risk, my painting might be ok, but will stay incomplete, and feel stagnant and stuck.
If I do take the risk, I may forfeit even my most favourite areas so far.
I always take the risk. And yes, sometimes a painting fails.
If all this sounds like a metaphor for life, I’d say you’re spot on. 🙂 It’s so easy to do what’s easy, what we’ve always done, what we know how to do with our eyes closed.
What’s not easy is change; it can mean relinquishing things we’ve become attached to.
We have to trust that letting go of something we like, or even love, can bring something beyond what we thought possible.
If we don’t make the bold move, we may have something good; parts of it may even be wonderful. My paintings don’t let me get away with that though. It’s all or nothing. If three quarters of the painting is working, and that last quarter isn’t coming together, I can’t {and won’t} leave it there.
It’s not just that it’s unsatisfying. What’s the point of an almost there painting? I want to feel it in its completeness of expression, without that nagging sense of something more being needed. If I can’t fully stand behind it when I share it, it’s not a complete painting. It’s out of integrity.
I don’t want almost there paintings, and I don’t want an almost there life.
I’m committed to making the bold move in my art {and in truth, that’s a fantastic and safe place to practice it}, and I’m committed to expanding that into my life too.
“One thousand half loves must be forsaken
to follow one whole heart home.”~ Rumi
What do you think? Do you ever find yourself confronted with the option of making the bold move when you make your paintings? Do you see opportunities for it in your life too? Got any good stories about times you made a bold move, in painting or elsewhere? Share ’em in the comments!
Hi Tara, Thank you for posting this inspiring article. I’d love to put your ideas into practice. I wonder, what constitutes “a bold move?” Is it a blind leap of faith or an arbitrary decision? How do you define it?
Julie
Julie that’s a great question! For me, a bold move is something that feels a bit daring and reckless, so it can also feel a bit scary, but exciting too. I guess it’s part leap of faith, part ‘this might work but I honestly don’t know’ decision. {Or is that the same thing?!}
In terms of painting, for me it usually means some kind of bold swipe, or covering up something I’m afraid to ‘lose’ but have a feeling the painting might work better without it. You could try introducing a completely new colour, or a larger dark/light area, or drawing in an image, or removing half of what you’ve done. Or try using your non dominant hand so you have less control. The trick is to always go a little further than feels entirely comfortable. And don’t forget whatever you do can be edited; the bold move doesn’t create a dead end, just something new!
The way I define it in my own work is this, when your artwork should be finished but you know it’s not. Something is missing, but what? At this point I always walk away, sometimes sleep on it, not the painting ha ha, but I leave it for a day. Sometimes I turn it upside down, walk away then look at it again. 9 times out of 10 something goes ‘PING’. Maybe the values aren’t working, maybe a touch of another colour, maybe a bit more detail, it could be anything. On occasion I have taken the plunge and done something drastic, willing to lose the painting if I have to. I seldom have to dump it. Something just says, Voilà.
Yes I find walking away very helpful too. I know what you mean about the ping!
I love the bold move! It has been a hugely important aspect of my life, and something I probably need to bring into my art more. Going to South America for a year, reducing my work hours to part-time, and most recently, cutting most of my hair off! Bold moves have defined all my major life transitions and they keep me on my toes. I’ve been thinking about how to bring more bold moves into my life – since I can’t travel right now, how can I make small ones on a daily basis so that I still feel like I’m moving forward and expanding?
Oh I love this Stephanie! That’s such a great question. I think now you say it I do it more than I realised – there are so many opportunities in daily life, even on a small scale, to make a bold move and cause a shift in energy. I’m also planning my next tattoo; not sure if that’s bold really because it doesn’t scare me, but it always feels significant!
Hi Tara, I’m going to use this post for my inspiration today! I have a couple of “almost there” paintings sitting in front of me now waiting for me to make my bold move. One is definitely not there yet but the other I’m not sure about which probably means it too needs something bold. I have been thinking a lot recently about all the bold moves I have made in my life (quitting good jobs, moving from country to country, long trips travelling solo, shaving my hair off (twice!)) and am surprised at all I have done when I sometimes now seem to have real difficulty making small and seemingly insignificant decisions. Great post for inspiration. Thank you. Here’s to the bold move and wonderful shifts in energy 🙂
Yay! Glad it is spurring you on Elizabeth! That’s so interesting what you say about bold moves in life – I also find myself in that position – lots of ‘big’ bold decisions in my life and these days it often feels harder to make the less significant ones. So weird! Glad it’s not just me. 😉