I remember an Instagram artist talking about “ choosing a colour palette for a series” when I had just started painting again and thinking - perhaps I need to do that , maybe things would look more cohesive .
At the time I was worried that my work all looked all over the place-which I realise is totally normal at that stage.
What I learnt through trying this is that by pre planning colour I’m taking out the very thing that makes the act of painting exciting and enjoyable . Colour choices in the moment are integral to how I work . If I’m working on a piece , trying to make it work, my brain is constantly problem solving , firing up about different colours. I need the freedom for the painting to develop wherever it needs to go without being constrained.
At different times , I start to get obsessed with a particular colour - I see it everywhere. My eye gets drawn to it in textiles, graphics, walls, other artworks.
Before beginning a series I create colour studies , experiments in paper . From this often colour combinations emerge that stick with me and I usually keep a few around the studio as I start painting the first base layers.
When I get out of my usual surroundings , it’s colours used in a different way that really grabs my attention and I want to hold onto that feeling.
time
Notes on time from my notebook
Remember long bus or train journeys? where you’d stare out of the window but your mind would go all over the place. Before smartphones ? Your mind would wander for hours and it was enjoyable to be able to let your brain have this freedom?
I think it’s quite like getting lost in a painting , your brain kind of clears and thoughts come and go from memory to random thoughts and afterwards it feels like those moments before you drift to sleep.
Different approach to time - in the west - the need to “ be productive ‘ Doing ‘ Many people living in a fast paced world where things are scheduled. Noticing how people deal with doing nothing .
Giving up the control over time . By slowing down you get other experiences, time to notice, connect, getting more out of the moment . More like living. The times when we move away from the pressures of time this is when we are often in flow , looking at art, making at, in conversation. Feeling more alive.
Art as an antidote to hurrying.
Pausing to take in the visual aspects of a painting - the shapes, lines, and textures - allows people to breathe, physically feel in another space, and experience a mental pause.
Suffering from time blindness?Thinking getting everywhere will take 20 mins?
Consistency
Slow and steady .Trust that progress is made by consistency.
Moving slowly forwards by picking up my painting everyday