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July, '06
Technical Knowledge vs. Intuition
by George Allen Durkee
A man visiting our
gallery asked, "What percentage of painting is 'technical knowledge'
and how much is intuition?" Not that easy to answer. Painting is a
balancing act between staying in control of the materials and giving free
reign to creative vision. When I paint, I begin by taking in my subject.
What do I want to say about this particular place? Is it the subject
itself? Or is it a quality of light and atmosphere, a particular pattern
of lights and darks or perhaps the play of certain colors? Once I know what
I want to say visually, then I think about how
to say it in paint.
Every painting is a
new challenge. I stand with one foot on the solid ground of what I have
done before and what I know about how to paint, and with the other foot in
quicksand. This painting is new.
I read somewhere that one of the characteristics of creative people is a
high tolerance for ambiguity. I can say from long experience that there is
often a great deal of ambiguity in painting. I need to be able to not
know, while at the same time knowing what I want the painting to express.
I do know some things about how to bring that about. I don't know as the
painting develops whether it's working or not. Until a certain advanced
stage, my canvas may look as if it's been rolled on by a dog covered in
paint. And then, magically, the whole thing starts to come alive. This is
the point when I need to STOP.
I ask this question:
is this the expression I intended? Usually, the answer is yes. Sometimes
though, the painting has taken an unintended direction; it's saying
something other than the vision with which I began.
Then I have a decision
to make. Do I want to force my will onto the canvas and try to make
it conform to my initial vision? Or, will I say, "What does the painting
want?" and do that, allowing myself to be guided by what may be a higher
knowing. Every painting is different in this respect, and I don't always
make the best choice. What percentage is technical know-how and how much
is intuition? Beats me.
George
Allen Durkee
This blog may not be
reproduced in any form whatsoever without permission from
George
Allen Durkee
Okay, one exception. You can print it out
and pass it around if you want to.
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