I like to parallel cooking and painting to drive through a concept that I think is very beneficial for creative’s.
If I where going to create some great meal, having some knowledge of cooking, would I just reach into the refrigerator, herb cabinet, pantry or gather other needed cooking supplies and just randomly throw them all together in a bowl hoping for them to turn out well and taste good? Would I think that even if I did make a few bad choices I could remove them later, or would they taint my cooking flavor and affect in a negative manor?
Unfortunately, many artists approach their paintings in this same manor. Hoping for something good to turn out, or later repair. By throwing all types of random marks on their paintings. Hoping somehow to whittle down to the truth.
To my knowledge it is good decisions, make good paintings. A poorly placed mark, color or value, will influence and effect your next stoke of paint. Then multiple miss-happenings will increase the likelihood of a lesser painting. Everything stroke in a painting is in relationship to every other stroke.
I am not saying this to make you paint in fear, but maybe to slow you down, in the effort to capture more correct information as you plan your painting. This will in the short term, speed up your painting and have a greater possibility of success.
It would be frustrating in cooking or art to quickly mix ingredients randomly together and have it look or taste wonderfully, then spend the rest of your life trying to figure out what in the heck you did.
Food for thought.
© 2011 Daryl Urig
