Thursday, February 11, 2010

An Unlikely Subject

People who don't make art tend to be curious about where ideas come from and what the creative process is about. Artists tend to be curious about the process other artists go through in making a painting, photograph, sculpture, etc. I think it's unique to every individual.

For me, what usually happens is that I see something that interests me. Like the image above, which is what I see in the morning when I wake up. It lodges somewhere in my brain and ferments there. Often, what intrigues me is not something that anyone else would pay attention to. Sometimes, it never leaves my head and becomes anything physical. Sometimes an idea will brew for years.

What I do know is that I don't have control over what does and what doesn't catch my attention. Yes, I'm perfectly capable of creating paintings that arise from different impulses (like the need to sell the work). The ideal situation is when I make something I want to make and other people are able to see what I saw and want to own it. In a perfect world the two would mesh in a consistent way, and a good living could be made doing what I love.

So, what is likely to happen with that view outside my bedroom window? Beats me. But you can bet that it's in my brain somewhere, stewing around.

No comments: