Whenever I am painting or drawing I often don’t start out with any particular idea. I just start moving the brush or the pencils and let the drawing or the painting lead me. It’s relaxing and nerve wracking at the same time to create in this way. Relaxing because the pressure is off. I don’t have to worry about performance anxiety since it’s not really “me” doing it anyway. I’m just following where the brush or pencils are taking me. So I can’t take any responsibility or blame for what shows up.
It’s nerve wracking because I never know what the heck is going to happen. Oftentimes I’ll be in the middle of something and thinking to myself “Now where in heaven’s name is THIS thing going.” And believe me, a lot of weird stuff shows up in my artwork.
This particular drawing is a case in point. I have no idea why this woman is headless. And I certainly don’t know where the dress came from. It looks to me like a cross between one of those push up bra sundresses women wore in the 50’s and something out of an old space age cartoon series I used to watch as a kid called the Jetsons.… which I’m sure most of you reading this blog will never have heard of because it’s a cartoon about the future but it was on the air in the stone age of my childhood!
It’s a good reminder that I don’t have to understand some thing in order to create it. And that it’s enough to just have fun and to play and to create a totally meaningless piece of artwork!
I this feels full of energy and i love the intuitive artwork and just not worrying why or were the head is lol!
Geat!
The headless thing just reminds me of photographs that accidentally cut off the head (or on purpose on many knitting blogs where they want to show the sweater but remain anonymous).
And I like the colours and swirly lines. Though I see the Jetsons reference. Either I’m older than I think or the Jetsons hung around for a while :-) (but now I have the damned theme song in my head, thx)
Rock on! Maybe there’s no head b/c you don’t necessarily have to identify with the piece, … just create? Thanks for sharing the process! And thanks for dropping by as well! So great to have fun!
Now I have the Jetson’s theme song in my head too! The show was definitely on for a long time but maybe none of us stayed with it for a long time. :-)
My first thought when I saw the pic before reading your description was of a vintage style swimsuit (though with futuristic fabric). Perhaps the art is more about the clothing than the person. Or not!
Sorry to inflict the Jetson’s theme song on you all!!
Marilyn- Thanks for your support to just follow my intuition!
JoVE- Yes, it is kind of like a clothing ad. I don’t know… maybe I need to go shopping!!
coRa- Yes, I think that’s a good interpretation of what’s going on here. Sometimes I DO feel like cutting off my head will help my creative process go a lot more smoothly.
Elizabeth- Yes… vintage and the future… I’ve covered all the bases.
one thing i’m loving about having your participate in AEDM is getting to see your colorful creations, Chris. It’s awesome!!
Thanks Leah… I really appreciate the opportunity. Because I do my art work primarily for the process I rarely show them to anyone! So it’s fun to have the opportunity to bring them out into the world.
Thanks so much for all your fabulous support!!