Painting – A Diary of Movement
There’s a full two-page spread in my sketchbook that says in huge letters, “IF YOU DON’T LIKE YOUR MARKS, YOU HAVE TO MOVE DIFFERENTLY.” What a breakthrough! I can’t believe something so simple could be so transformative in my painting practice. Simple but not easy. I still may need to tattoo it on the backs of my hands to remind me. This revelation prompted the greatest move forward in my entire art practice to date.
If I don’t like something in my life, I have to move differently.
We all have ways our bodies like to move. Seems weird to admit, but I first had to learn to notice how my body moved. I wasn’t remotely aware. Everyone has a visual language unique to them that evolves in their painting practice. This is in some way, related to how our bodies move and that is unique and important. But habits are so powerful. They can lull us to sleep if we’re not careful. Painting taught me to be vigilant. Too many similar marks and my work gets boring. I’m slowly learning the principle that variety is life and sameness is death. Variety maintains interest.
The first way I learned to increase my variety of marks was by remembering to move in a variety of ways. I practice this every day. I focus on contrast by painting thin lines and then adding thick ones, or by making a big shape followed by a small one. If I paint something soft edged then I add another hard edge somewhere else on the canvas. I love playing with opacity and transparency too.
I try to paint from a place of freedom and intuition and then step back and analyze what the painting needs with my “edit eyes.” I have to go slow and switch from one gear to the other. I tend to paint and do work calls at the same time as I’ve found both to improve when I do so. I chase getting into a good flow state—so sure, go with the flow, but if I rush it and paint too fast, I miss opportunities that would truly improve my work.
The other way I achieve variety is to switch up the tools I use. What an unexpected joy to discover I could use non-traditional tools—tools not even intended for painting in my art. The thrift store, the kitchen section of the dollar store, or the hardware store? Dreamy. Oh, the thrill of exploration! feeds my creativity to this day. I never tire of it.
It took months and months more, maybe even years before it dawned on me that a painting is a diary of movement. It’s simply a record of how I moved every tool across a canvas. It is movement documented with color, shape, and texture. A kind of map of the direction, speed, and even the order in which I moved.
I’ve learned to appreciate the power of a line every bit as much as a complex color mix. I’m fascinated by how a shape can communicate a feeling. It’s so powerful! Making something that resonates with people, something that they can respond to feels so life-giving.
