There are many ways of getting a painting to resonate. Planning and executing with precision and a clear vision may be one. Another, more up my street, is protecting happy accidents along the way. (the term “Happy Accidents” being first coined by TV artist Bob Ross). We’ve all made a mark and seen a result that surprises: “Hey that looks interesting! I didn’t expect that but I like it.” When I see this, I often look to embody the effect: how can I propagate & reinforce the impact.
My painting titled “The Woodsman”, has one very strangely shaped eye. It seems to drip in the middle, preventing the eye from forming a contiguous whole. I remember leaving that mark there for most of the painting, wondering whether I should define it more completely or at least reduce the stridency of this almost random mark. But it repeats the verticals found in the beard, it could almost be a drip coming off of the hat and it certainly breaks up “reading” that eye – giving more focus to the squint in the other. When most viewers look at the painting, I am surprised to find that they don’t notice it. This “accident” is one that makes the painting!
Who knows where that mark came from. Perhaps it was subconscious. Perhaps random. But the response to that new mark is not either: it’s a connection with the painting. It’s the potential in what you see. Possibly showing a new path to explore. Painting for me is like this- a combination of conception, planning, skill and execution, but above all, an expression that comes mysteriously into the picture.
May all your accidents be happy!
This Saturday, 04 October, we explore the realm of “Happy Accidents” in our workshop: “Balancing Control and Expression – Capturing that special spark”. Details on the courses page of my website.