Embracing meandering paths
& celebrating not knowing
Hi everyone,
Today I got the urge to write about creative process, or cycles. I’ve had this topic whirling round in my head, ever since I started creating tutorials for my Patreon a few months ago.
I’ve been learning so much about myself and my own work through the process of creating tutorials - one of the many rewarding reasons I love to teach! The process of breaking down my own practice has been really engaging - and challenging - in equal measures.
What comes first, what will people want to learn, where’s best to start? What elements of process are personal to my way of working, that I should share?
I’m working on a series within my Patreon at the moment, following the journey of painting a collection of work, from start to finish. My main take away from creating these tutorials so far, is discovering how meandering my own process is!
I have switched my approach creating this series, from a linear journey to follow, to instead capturing the main elements/components of my practice from each stage: How I approach research, how I develop ideas, how I prep for finals, and create and present the final paintings. I hope these tutorials act as insights to each stage or step, that can be taken and used whenever and however members wish, to best suit our individual processes, projects and cycles.
This is the subject of writing today; the meandering process, and my journey to stay open to that wiggling path; to view it in a positive light, to embrace it and to stay patient.
Sometimes, my paintings develop in a very linear way, from sketch to development to final work on canvas.
However. However. This is not where my mind is right now; and now that I’ve accepted it, it’s a pretty exciting place to be. As I sit writing this post, my eye is being called towards a blank canvas I have primed to my left, ready for paint. My sketchbook is also calling out for more research. At the moment, I want to do a little of everything everywhere, all at once.
And, I think, this is ok.
I’m learning that this bouncing around is what forms unexpected ideas, and so I’ve created these two illustrations below to visualise and accept my own creative journey.
The first with blue paths is a high level overview; how it goes in general - the route that has emerged over years of painting - the slightly more linear process to the creation of a body of work, seeing things from afar.
The second with the pink paths, is how it feels right now: when I get into the nitty gritty of each step and look closely - suddenly, there’s many more turn offs and diversions, and exciting things to do.
Wherever you see a wee star, is often a ‘side quest’ - as titled by Andy J. Pizza. on his amazing podcast ‘Creative Pep Talk’. These are little quests that are kinda related, but often involve a spontaneous moment of experimentation, exploring a new material, topic, surface.
I think I just wanted to share this to be open and honest about my own creative journey - no matter how many years I paint, there’s always something that throws me in a new direction, there’s something new to learn.
Why am I writing all of this? Well, I caught myself getting frustrated, and telling myself off (as I often do in my own head) - Orla, you should be working in a straight forward manner by now. What do you mean, you need more research? How can you not know why you’re doing something in your painting by now? I like to think of this part of my brain as the gremlin on my shoulder. It’s not really me, but the negative part of my mind full of ‘shoulds’ and comparisons and worries.
It can appear on social media that artists who create consistently, for many years, know exactly what, how and why they work. Of course, these things grow, clarify and strengthen through time and practice.
But, there is a great deal of unknown in it all. To be an artist is to constantly learn, challenge, change and grow. Wither this happens in small or big ways.
So, if you’re out there feeling stuck for your next step in your artwork, don’t know why you’re feeling drawn to a particular stage in the process, or whatever it is you are doing - I wanted to share a reminder I’ve been telling myself:
Time is the best problem solver, and purpose and reason often emerge further down the line when it comes to picture making. So if whatever your thing is feels important, it probably is. Take the time you need, to not rush, and just enjoy wherever you are at in the creative process.
I’m off to splash colour on that canvas, which is calling to me now 🎨
P.s - Here’s my latest video exploring a little of this development process both out in the landscape, and back in the studio ☀️
You asked about incorporating words into paintings. For several months this past year I did a (nearly) daily image journal. Using mostly Inktense I would write a word or two on the paper and then just start making marks, not trying to match the images to the words. It was an interesting practice but,of course, most of the paintings were not anywhere near a finished image. One day I wrote “Big Magic Oatmeal.” because I was reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic and I had oatmeal for breakfast. A beautiful painting of a tree showed up. I am doing more writing journaling now and recently a poem grew out of it which was paralleled by an abstract painting on the same theme.
I am an increasingly enthusiastic beginner, being inspired by what’s showing up on here. I value your sharing Orla, and the comments of others. It’s humbling to be involved with so many experienced artists who visit here, and who add value. I have spent most of my career helping people access more of their right brain faculties, through tools and techniques. Many moons go, I was invited to spend a day with final year students at The Glasgow School Of Art. I introduced them to the upside down drawing exercise in Betty Edwards’ Drawing On the Right Side Of The Brain. They did the full exercise and most were amazed, their Lecturers were not aware of her work. I also introduced them to the tool used by Andrew Carnegie, back in the first decades of the 20th Century, for accessing creativity and intuition. He developed an adult version of what many children did through play by imagining they were their hero. It’s possible that with modern life and the distraction of devices that kids no longer do this. Anyway I had them imagine they were their hero from the world of art. I taught them how to do this from an adult perspective and to allow the notion of their creativity combined with their own down the work. Months later the Lecturers came back to sharing that the work had improved considerably. I am on holiday in Naples FL and thanks to Orla I have brought prepared sketchbook washes to do something each day. My wife is wondering what’s happening to me. :-)