Landscape: Artist’s Statement
An artist reflects his aesthetic skills, personal feelings, life experiences and ideas in his art. Artistically, the object of my landscape painting is not to create a photographic representation but to interpret the spirit of the land.
An artist’s creative process is tranquil, focused, aware, and centred in the moment. Creative work lights up the senses. Painting is a way to produce from the inside-out. When I am "creating" I am usually in the same state of consciousness as when I meditate. I use flowers, trees, rocks and water as a focus, seeing them in multi-dimensions as I play with paint on canvas. It's a spiritual practice; a way to allow the subconscious to become conscious while bringing beauty into the world. Colours and conceptual lines represent the extended subjects and modes of meditation and the fluid forms and movement of free thoughts.
Painting can be enthralling, not just in anticipation of a beautiful outcome, but because the process of painting is itself fun and fulfilling. The oil pigments become the coloured bits from a kaleidoscope as they spread over the canvas. In the light reflected back to the viewer, colours compete and compliment each other, creating and sustaining their own individual entity. Flexible and energetic brush strokes simulate the dynamic nature of the landscape while beams of light, the foundation of life and the vehicle permitting us to experience the intangible magic, create their glorious affect.
Artists devote large chunks of time to doing things that are inexplicable, unless we assume that the doing is enjoyable for its own sake. Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, in The Psychology of Optimal Experience, theorizes that people are most happy when they are in a state of flow – a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. This state of consciousness comes as close as anything can to what we call happiness. When I am creating and becoming involved in the work, I am unable to breakaway from the activity; I ignore hunger, social obligations, time and fatigue to keep the process moving along.
Flow is not achieved without effort. The effort I exert is my interaction with the physical world, my reaction to and interpretation of the relationship between man and nature and the artistic techniques I employ to express the visual experience in a two dimensional form. The challenges and frustration of the creative process are often monumental. That the outcome might offer monetary redemption is beyond consideration when I am creating. The immediate benefit is the satisfaction and personal spiritual growth that comes from perfecting my technique and sharing my experiences with my viewers. The physical world – the land - is more than an objective reality to be analyzed, used, and mastered. It is a realm of beauty to be admired and enjoyed.
For me, hiking and canoeing are part of the creative process, wherein I acquaint myself with and experience nature’s marvels. Too often, I discover irresponsible and careless human behaviours have damaged the environment. As a result, landscape painting for me is also a means to make my viewers more aware of the natural environment and remind them of importance of ecological harmony.
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