Last week I began working on a landscape painting of a favorite scene from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. My first efforts at painting the scene were disappointing. So I decided to paint it over and over again using different techniques to see what I could learn about the process of painting.
In the process (which I’m still not finished with) I discovered how
Creative Evolution
happens when I am in discovery mode and decide to simply try new things just for fun or to see what happens.
Here is the photo and first painting that inspired this little journey into creative evolution and discovery:
At the top of this post I’ve shown an experiment where I decided to use different colors in the tree rather than trying to depict what I saw in the photograph. And I also decided to add splatters of red to the grass area just to see what they would look like.
Below you see an experiment where I applied dabs of watercolor paint out of the tube directly onto the paper and then added brush strokes and water.
It doesn’t look like a landscape or anything else though I do see one abstract tree hiding in the shapes. But it was really fun to do. And I learned a bit from it.
“I don’t want to be afraid of bright colors, or new sounds, or big love, or risky decisions, or strange experiences, or weird endeavors, or sudden changes, or even failure.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
In my next painting I thought about changing the proportions and adding colorful flowers to the tree. As I painted, visions of the tree of life flashed through my mind and I wished that I could portray how wonderful trees make me feel.
With visions of the tree of life still in my mind, I began this painting (first layer, more layers to come) where the tree fills up the page. Again the colors are less realistic but they are colors that I really like.
And finally at the bottom of this post is the first layer of a vertical painting I made with hills added. I expect to work on it more today along with more different tree/landscape paintings.
I don’t know when I’ll be finished with this little experiment. But I found that this process of repetition with freedom to try new things is a recipe for creative ideas to happen.
You can see that I am still not very skillful in watercolor painting. But what I am learning about myself as I paint is that what is most important to me is to evoke the feelings of the subject rather than a realistic “picture.” I have a camera that can make all of the realistic pictures I want.
“Creativity is sacred, and it is not sacred. What we make matters enormously, and it doesn’t matter at all. We toil alone, and we are accompanied by spirits. We are terrified, and we are brave. Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful privilege. Only when we are at our most playful can divinity finally get serious with us. Make space for all these paradoxes to be equally true inside your soul, and I promise—you can make anything. So please calm down now and get back to work, okay? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Even in photography I often make many different photos of the same scene, varying depth of field, the angle of the shot, vertical or horizontal perspective, and other things. And in the editing process I use it’s all about how I want the scene to feel.
Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst. — Henri Cartier-Bresson
Learning any skill takes practice—lots of practice. I’ve probably made over 100,000 photographs by now, probably many more than that. And I’m still learning and growing as a photographer. So now I’m working on my first thousand watercolor paintings. Who knows what I will discover and learn along the way?
How often do you repeat the same creative project over and over, trying different techniques and ideas? Perhaps you might try this on something you are working on.
May you walk in beauty.
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