Intuitive Painting

A recent high school reunion of intelligent, creative peers offered me this quote to ponder from Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, "It is not the strongest of the species who survives, and not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

One night or one moment of retrospective remembrances can crescendo a productive content of thought that can lead to incredible insight. It is a question of "why" certain events, conversations or the collection of human togetherness happens to shape a  person's life and be answered. Eventually one gets the answer if one is looking. I am never consciously looking, but I seem to be finding answers subconsciously that lead to epiphanies in curious connections.  It is with these conclusions I attempt to write down entries in my journal (or in this case, my blog) my feelings. These feelings from either human contact or a feeling of place eventually lead to a successful painting. It is with my subconscious I paint those feelings. My feelings on the canvas become an amassed life lesson. I feel it while painting, and when the painting is purchased, I know it is reciprocated. I SEE and experience that enriched prior experience being vital to intuitive tasks like painting. The painting result is personal, and when offered up commercially to be sold, is a goal of my being a true Artist. True to myself and to my art is my mantra. 

To acquire knowledge or perform tasks without the benefit of reason is intuitive behavior (gut response). Intuitive painting such as I do is highly responsive to change. Sure, I was not the most intelligent high school student, but I was the most observant to human interactiveness which taught me to choose well. My choices made on intuitive feelings led to a successful marriage, a successful art career, lifestyle decisions and mostly recently a change in location. A new city with new friends (keeping the golden ones) energized my survival instincts. Traveling many years with painter friends to not only American prime locations, but exotic places like Cuba and Europe.... or a simple back-home reunion to reacquaint childhood friends, focused me toward a spiritual reality.  It is with this present reality I draw on its energy to spark yet another painting. 

I write this because my mentoring other painters toward intuitive responses is important to me. Next week I paint in front of participants to show intuitive responses to the success of an oil painting with one tool, a palette knife. No brushes. In one hour in front of my audience that is paying to be there, I will complete a painting. It is important to me to convey this response not only with the paint, but to my openness to the changes that occur in the paint and my subconscious decision to mold it into a great painting. I rely on my collective remembrances to embrace the finished product. (And possibly a great night of dancing with childhood friends). I hope you enjoyed my sharing of self-talk. Now I am going to talk to my canvas while embracing change.