Whatever you do, don’t call me an artist! It has become such a wishy-washy term used to explain a huge variety of creative activities.
For better or for worse, I am a sculptor/painter and on a very good day (i.e. once in a blue moon) you might call me a good painter or sculptor and on those good days I don’t know where it comes from so I can’t replicate it. So, ha-ha artificial intelligence, you can copy images already created but you cannot capture ones in the incubator.
And that incubator is the subconscious. I love that part of my brain which can’t be controlled by the analytical left side. You know what it’s like. A mechanical problem is driving you nuts so you leave it for an hour and when you come back there is suddenly a magical solution. I have travelled the world and viewed a lot of art but very rarely take photos. Then when I’m working on a project I will recognise some essence of what I have seen coming through in the work. It’s like a distillation of what moved me and this is true of many other influences which make me uniquely me.
So we know where creativity comes from but how do we tap into it? Do very creative painters live and breathe the subconscious? I believe they do and I also believe you can train yourself to use the left side. A lot of my ideas come from the sleep/wake time of early morning, and in the cold hard light of day I wonder sometimes how I could have come up with them.
I love to paint and sculpt but it doesn’t come easy. Three hours in front of the easel and I have to get out and do something physical like carving stone. But it’s a special time to come back in and ‘confront’ the canvas. It’s full of surprises. I wish sometimes I could see it fresh as if I hadn’t painted it at all.
I also love our little country and feel that art can be like a bridge to give us the opportunity to stand in front of something that moves us and leads us to understand all the beautiful things that abound.
words by Dave Fowell
Watch Dave’s episode at the Altbays Table Talk here.
Help us take Coromind Magazine to new heights by becoming a member. Click here
