When Paintings Sing and Images Dance

I finished my bird house painting, and decided to add a couple bluebirds for interest. The painting has an old-fashioned look, but the colors are bright and modern. This 16x20 acrylic was done on a panel which makes it less expensive to buy. Prints may be purchased online at: http://carol-allen-anfinsen.artistwebsites.com  The original may be purchased by contacting me.

Before I begin a painting, I see a finished product in my mind. I know how I want it to look, what colors I want to use, and almost everything about it. So why does it change as I go along? In the grip of creating and expressing, unexpected things happen. Happy coincidences occur with the swipe of a brush or an addition of color.

A dash of pink or coral in one place ends up in the wood on the bird house or branches making an ordinary painting sing! Subtle changes in form or line create unusual negative shape. Playful brush strokes end up giving a painting more fluidity, more energy. Each element becomes part of a whole that creates cohesiveness, consistency and energy.

 I’ve written about the “evolution” of a painting before; but each time it happens, I’m still amazed with the process.

I shared with you how the images I see on my bathroom floor in the wet or dry imprints left after a shower inspire ideas. Seeing a “Whirling Dervish,” I did some preliminary research and made my first sketch.

When I transferred the drawing to a larger canvas (18x24), I was struck by how symmetrical it was. I looked at some reference photos I’d found online, and made a second drawing over the first with charcoal. That way, if I changed my mind, I could easily wipe off the charcoal and go back to the first penciled sketch.

I like the second drawing better than the first. Although there are no scimitars, the irregular negative space is much more interesting. Variation in size and position of the prayer dancers, contribute more energy and smoother eye flow. The next time you see this canvas it will be as a finished painting.

Featured Artist
Paul Hilario’s name, style and life match his upbeat name and his paintings.

“My style is eclectic,” Paul says. “I mix and match impressionism with pop, low brow, fauvism, and cubism. You can see that sometimes my backgrounds are impressionist, my light and composition is cubist but my characters are always pop and cartoonish in nature. Most galleries will label my work as naive art."

Paul was featured in 1^st Angel Arts Magazine. To read about Paul and see more of his paintings go to:

http://1stangel.co.uk/talkthetalk/paul-hilario-talks-the-talk-with-1stangel-arts-magazine/

Ideas that keep coming back Germinate and Grow

Do you ever get an idea in your head that you can’t let go of? I’ve given myself numerous reasons why I shouldn’t follow up:  It’s not something I would normally paint; I don’t want to promote a religion or have others think that I do; It’s a big undertaking, and I’m not sure it will work.

On and on, I reason with myself while the project sits in my mind un-executed. The idea came to me one day as I saw a small shadowy figure on my bathroom floor made from water marks and smears.

“Whirling Dervish,” I thought to myself. Then I had to look it up to be sure I had the right term. At first, I thought it was a Disney character. YouTube educated me as I found several videos of this unique and unusual religious lifestyle.

I also conjured up images of modern day Shriner's who adopted Mason and Muslim symbols in their costuming. Originating in Turkey, the “Whirling Dervish” is a sect of Islam. They are taught to love everything and participate in a physically active meditation of whirling known as Sema or Sama that brings them to a state of ecstasy.

My purpose as an artist is not to judge, but to observe. I was intrigued artistically not only by the challenge of trying to render this scene on canvas, but by the colors I envisioned in my mind. Combining these elements with the Shriner's, I could see various shades of yellow in the background, moving to subdued red orange; using Arabic lettering and other elements imprinted in black on the paint.

What intrigued me the most was the red fez of the Shriner's; the same style as the black or red hats of the Sema. I couldn’t get the red, yellow and white images whirling on a yellow canvas out of my head. The scimitars the Shriner's use also appeared in my first quick sketch (8.5x11 paper is much smaller than actual canvas). Ideas are born in the most unusual ways and if we try to bottle them up, they have a way of bubbling back to the surface.

Curiosity and imagination are compelling tools that often give birth to unique and unusual ideas. Some ideas grow and flourish like a fountain that constantly gurgles and lives. Other ideas never get past a second or third review. They fall by the wayside because there’s no substance for development.

Don’t put a lid on good ideas. If they come back again and again, they are probably “keepers.”