An interesting Blog post at Seth’s Blog again – called “Better To Do Than To Think“. He applies it there to science: Rather do experiments than spending time thinking of how to experiment. And that is something I sooo much see valid in art that it bugs me.
Another great example of the typical artists trouble. By Heiko Nerenz.
When I get a request to paint a specific subject, then sometimes I get a clear image in my head instantly. That makes the job easy – I just have to paint down whats in my head. And funnily there is next to no way to improve upon it.
But if I don’t get this image automatically, then it gets really tough work to get something going from my head. And I do try: Sometimes sitting and just thinking for half a day. Trying in all kinds of manners to create an image in my head. The idea behind this is that even if I spend half a day doing this, it would still save me a lot of time when I work on a five days painting.
Alas, so far my efforts never worked out. There is no better way to get going than to just grab a pencil and start drawing. Work my way through it. At some point the mere amount of work will put you more and more in a direction and you will end up with something. With enough knowledge and experience it is always possible to turn anything into a good image.
So here are the rules:
– Better to do than to think.
– Start with the smallest easiest thing.
Do you have similar experiences? Or know any tricks to get an image in the head? I would be curious to hear about it.
Word.
I need to remind myself of that all the time.
Hi Thomas,
I think my experience is quite similar. I consider myself lazy, as I have the pencil do the thinking for me.
I have also experienced an increasing quality of the work by simply spending time with an artwork. However, just noodeling around doesn’t help much. I need to keep reflecting on the work, permanently judging whether I’m actually improving something. Sometimes there is this trap, that you don’t fix the issues of the image, but rather spend your time improving secondary areas, trying to get around the difficult part…
Hi Tobias,
true, lots of reflection and careful planning is still needed. I also don’t think the article about experiments meant that one should stop thinking.
Heh, the noodeling around is a problem I experience exactly as you describe it. I try to fix a little detail a hundred times, not really able or aware to see that I it would be better to take a step back again. It´s tricky to find the right balance though – go too far back, and you basically start over and will run into new problems again.