To Contemplate is to Toil

“One is not idle because one is absorbed. There is both visible and invisible labor. To contemplate is to toil, to think is to do. The crossed arms work, the clasped hands act. The eyes upturned to Heaven are an act of creation.” - Victor Hugo

What lies behind my art? I like to think about it so here are some fresh thoughts... forgive me if they're not as straightforward as you'd like.

I am conceptual, yes. For me this is not just the portraying of one idea. I love a concept that can be expressed definitively but not by negating all the thought processes put into finding that one idea. As I seek to find the focal point of a realistic painting, essentially looking for the one concept that underlies what I'm creating, I come through a complex and not quite linear painting process. What I'm enjoying about painting is that all of these thoughts are put together on the canvas with the final idea coming out with the most clarity. Well... sometimes.

I seek to show forth my mistakes and side roads in the final piece and not hide them from sight in thumbnails and sketches (although these are also a part of my process). I think this is why I've stopped transferring my final drawing directly onto the final painting surface. This is too controlled and unlike real life... instead I paint freely from the original sketches and photographs (and life, if possible). Although I look for refinement in my image and keeping elements in the same place throughout, there are many unexpected things that happen when painting like this. The freedom excites me!

Also, I really enjoy comparing and contrasting completely different ideas within one piece. Many times this makes a simple orange have a lot more meaning than just its appearance. What happens when you put it under a bright light, or a blue light, or candlelight? Different light situations affect how I'm viewing this orange. But not just with my physical faculty of sight. Different lighting situations bring out different thoughts and emotions as I paint. A brightly lit flower can cause joy and lightheartedness to be evident in my paintings. A somber candle in moody darkness can bring out depressive and sorrowful thoughts. Yes, I can control this to some extent by the ways I know I react to certain situations but the exciting part of painting from life is bringing about the unexpected. Life is unexpected. The longer you look at something you think is concrete the more it changes and can surprise you.

This may not jive in an environment that looks for strong concept and simple statement for impact on it's audience. But what about an environment that looks for the complex, thriving in mystery? Enjoying the seeking out of answers more than actually finding them, and much less than being shown them explicitly.

I'm not yet sure where this type of art fits commercially. It is more contemplative than direct. But that's an extension of who I am.

IMAGE CREDIT: Orange Photographs ©2010 Bethany Vanderputten.