Ideas Come from Thoughts

There is no such thing as a bad idea, only ideas that are not thought, reasonably tested, and acted upon. Initial ideas are generally thoughts that lead to more complicated ideas. The scenario oftentimes goes like this: I want to paint, what will I paint, how will I paint, and is the value of the painting, and I am not talking about money. Now, these are not bad or weak thoughts, but thoughts with simplistic answers. While some would say there is no such thing as a bad thought, there are thoughts that lead to more thoughts that will sustain enthusiasm and encourage discovery.

My latest foray into the world of “what If” began with the simplest premise. With mystery as my goal, I decided I would make dark brush marks inside a grid of 20 rectangles. When dry I covered these shapes with layers of white paint in varying degrees of opacities. While this is a very simple approach to mark-making I found it intriguing, captivating and compelling, all elements I seek in my art the art of others.

“Marks of Life ‘ 30″x22” acrylic on paper

In the second search, I suggested human heads by defining eye sockets, the shadow under the nose, top lip, bottom lip, and chin, By not depicting real people I afforded myself the greatest of all emotions, freedom. Freedom to enjoy the discovery of mark-making.

“The Crowd, the crowd” 30″ x 22″ a/p

In the next series, I enlarged the grid making the head shapes larger. The larger head sizes allow for a more expressive personality.

“Personalities” 30″x 22″ a/p

“Orange Corkscrew” a/canvas 36″ x 36″

This image is painted on top of another image I could never worm up to, so. Talk about freedom. size does matter and I feel so liberated working of a four foot square of masonite. The images in this panel are head and abstract shapes.

“Random Masks” 48″ x 48″ acrylic on wood panel

Changing the colour dominance changes the feeling tone and only requires one decision.

“Letters, Numbers, Figures” 22″ x 30″ a/p

“Quiet Intrusions” acrylic on canvas 36″ x 36″