So, Where Does That Leave Us? Well, for one thing, it compels us to be very cautious about careerism, the market, productivity, entrepreneurialism, and other features of our way of life.
I am not suggesting we ignore the fact that our work circulates in a market and that our ability to have a career turns on the realities of exhibitions and curriculum vitae. My point only is that we might want to be clear about the ways in which the career sometimes advances while the art recedes. One way of getting clear about these things is to keep in mind a fundamental question: why do we paint?
Answering the Question: "Why Do We Paint?"
There is the obvious – that we may wish to capture the experience of seeing something to which we respond, in some way, on canvas. But there is another – more important – reason. Our visual experience continues further, becomes richer, deeper and fuller as we paint it. A dialogue, a conversation begins. Our marks on the canvas are our response to the voice, the tastes, and the touches we see.
I know that sounds odd, but the real mistake we make as visual artists is to assume that what we see when we paint is something separate from us, that we simply observe or measure or record with our eyes. However, when we touch back or respond with our brush we begin something sensual, a dance of sorts, and a conversation.
The Miracle of Painting
We make a mark on the canvas and when we look back, we see something that seemingly was not there a moment ago. And there is that miracle: by virtue of making marks, we have created ourselves a tiny bit more – and we actually can see more, feel more, because we have become more, by that tiny bit.
Were we not making marks we would not be able to see much at all, except that which we are supposed to see, that which everyone sees – the expected, the names of things, trees, sky, house, person, the facts, the obvious. You must see past these things. Taste with your eyes. Listen with them. Understand that the activity of painting is about the thrill, the enhanced moment you might realize. Then you will see. Then you will become.
