The Creative Process

Everyone has their own Creative process.

"The picture is not thought out and determined beforehand, rather while it is being made it follows the mobility of thought. Finished, it changes further, according to the condition of him who looks at it. A picture lives its life like a living creature, undergoing the changes that daily life imposes upon us. That is natural, since a picture lives only through him who looks at it."

This quote is in, CONVERSATIONS WITH PICASSO by Christian Zervos. I really liked this excerpt, because it expresses that art is not planned. Sometimes you never know what will spark the interest or inspiration to create the painting that will soon be a masterpiece. A painting, is just something that appears out of the spur of the moment. A paining expresses something, just like every living organism in our society strives to express something. I liked this quote, because I agree with it completely 100%. Yes, the artist has his own thought of what the paining is supposed to represent, but just like a play being performed, each audience member either gets a completely different message...or the entire audience gets reletively the same message. That's how it is with paintings.

"The artist is a receptacle of emotions come from no matter where: from the sky, the earth, a piece of paper, a passing figure, a cobweb. This is why one must not discriminate between things. There is no rank among them. One must take one's good where one finds it, except in one's own works. I have a horror of copying myself, but I have no hesitation, when I am shown for example a portfolio of old drawings, in taking from them whatever I want."

This quote also stuck out to me from the same reading. It is saying that we as human beings gain emotions from everything around us. It is up to us not to rank them into what is the best idea or not the best idea. We are supposed to take what's good from what we find and then use that in our works of art. Picasso also goes on to say in this article that he has no hesitation to take ideas from old drawings. Those were his old ideas, and even though they may not have worked at the time, they work now, and there's always going to be a moment where something you thought would never work out...always does. It's just so interesting. That's why I, as an actor carries around a little journal all the time. If I see something that strikes me...I will write it down. You never know when it's that little piece of information that influences a character you're acting or a play you're writing.

"A picture lives with the life you put into it. If you put no life into it - no thrill, no concentration of delight or exaltation of visual discovery - then the picture is dead, like so many canvases, no matter how much thorough and scientific work is put into it."

This is so true!!! This quote was said by D.H. Lawrence on MAKING PICTURES. I believe this to be true too. When something is being created, it is being brought to life. Just like I think that DANCE IS MUSIC MADE VISIBLE. Painting a picture is bring life to something. :)

ONE line in this article that stood out to me was, "The conscious delight is certainly stronger in paint." I think this is well put. When a we dream as humans, it's techniquely our conscious selves that shoot snap shots of pictures in our minds during REM sleep. Our brain then takes those snap shots and fills in the blanks to give us what we know as a "dream." It's our consciousness that truly wants to be seen. It's the other side of us waiting to jump out!! I strongly feel that this quote is true. He then goes on to say, "I believe many people have, in their consciousness, living images that woudl give them the greatest joy to bring out. But they don't know how to go about it. And teaching only hinders them." DID I just say that we as humans have another side to us wating to jump out?! haha...he said the same thing. However, I don't agree fully, with "teaching only hinders them." I think that this can be a yes true, and a no false statement. I believe that there are people who can teach you and enhance your ability in your own creative process. That goes both ways.

Everyone has their own creative process, and they are all simular, we just need to find what works for us. :)