Technique will get you out of a jam. Or so I was told by John Ravet the manger of the National Academy of Designs’ Museum Shop where I did a work study to pay for my continuing education there. In a former life he was a dancer that worked with Bob Fossey! Too cool. :)
It’s true. Technique will get you out of a jam.
However……as Alec Guinness’s character Gully says in the movie ‘The Horses Mouth’ …. and once you’ve learned it, you have to kick off your heals and blow it out the keyhole! YES!! Lol!! So why would you throw away everything you just spent a whole buncha time perfecting?
To be you.
That’s me in the pic above at Bear Mountain, plein air painting in my ‘self-taught acrylic’ years. I don’t do it very often, but always enjoy it when I do. There was something profoundly easy about the way I would approach work back then… that disappeared for a while once I left the academy. I had been taught technique. And I ate it up! I went from zero to academically trained in what felt like a flash. And when I got home to finally paint for myself…….I had lost my joy.
Gone was the naive optimist who would start by splashing paint about as I began to question everything I did. Worrying away with minutia. It took a while to really climb out of that. It was a mountain of information. Art history on your shoulders. So what are you gonna do?
Then little by little, it came back…but with a renewed sense of purpose. I was able to do things I never could before as my eyes got bigger and bigger…..the possibilities! I began scraping as much as building up my paintings….instinctively feeling the need to scrape it off of my feet and just be myself. How will it look, I felt ….once it’s passed through me, this knowledge. A lot of time was spent just getting my hands dirty.
Sometimes it takes a traumatic event to bring out an ‘all bets are off’ attitude. For me it was a little from column A…..and a little from column B. But I wouldn’t be me without it.
Suddenly, there were no boundaries. Nothing was off limits. I was given permission to do/be whatever I wanted. The more I let that out… the better I felt. The better the work was. Because it came from a different place. And that could only come from me. I was never really any good at fitting into molds anyway.
So now, I’ll admit that on MORE than one occasion…technique has gotten me out of a jam, but I’m always the one who butters the toast. ;)
Love & Learnin’!
Laz xx
P.S. Check out the movie ‘The Horse’s Mouth’! It’s truly an art lovers/makers classic. :)
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I was fascinated when I went to the Dali Museum here in Florida and learned that Dali was classically trained and ridiculously proficient in almost every technique there is. You begin the tour in the early years of development and get to see him master realism, surrealism, cubism, one after another … and then you loop into the main gallery where HIS work exploded and you could so plainly see that if he had not first learned and mastered the rules, there never would have been this spectacular departure from convention that became his signature style. It was such a cool thing to see and such a wonderful reminder that all of our life experiences contribute to our distinctness down the road. Love to see you breaking rules and painting a la Laz. Your talent , like you, is a beautiful thing! xo
Cris, I remember going to that museum and being blown away as well! What a fantastic example! And you’re right you need to go through it to come out the other side, but sadly some people never climb out of it enough to break through and find their own way. So important! I’m glad you’re on this journey with me sweetie, thanks for your wonderful words. ;) I look forward to breakin’ through even more in the future…. so watch out!
xo
Love this. I was reminded about how many heavy metal rockers (I hate heavy metal BTW) are classically trained. It goes back to technique. When I was teaching pottery, I reminded my students to get down their technique first. Learn the rules so you can then break them. But it can be hard to break them once they have been drilled into you.
As an artist myself, I love that sneak peek into the creative process. Thank you.
Laurie, you are so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. A lot of artist’s don’t realize that people want to hear about how they do what they do. I, on the other hand love opening up. I’ve got nothing to hide.
So funny what you say about heavy metal rockers being classically trained!!!…I remember as a young girl hearing that Pat Benatar was classically trained as an opera singer! She’s got some lungs! Lol! But she found her own way to do it. That’s cool.
It’s funny, I’m on the fence still to this day about whether or not it Should be taught, I’m a HUGE Henry Darger fan and he was never taught a day in his life, neither was Francis Bacon, another idol of mine. I just know for me it was the right choice, but boy did I have to climb out of it and still do!! It certainly gives you the tools to get out of that jam that you SHOULD often find yourself in when pushing your boundaries, so cheers to that!!
Would love to see your work btw!
xo
Laz, thank you for sharing a bit of the journey that’s brought you to today. I was thinking as I was reading this about how similar my experience with writing has been. All the learning techniques and being overwhelmed by them at some point … and then slowing coming back to the place where I am writing without worrying about technique. Because in the end getting the story out is more important than the structure. And I think when that is done, in writing and in painting we can look back and see that we did use techniques simply by giving ourselves permission not to worry.
Hey Christie!
Love that you said ‘in the end getting the story out is more important than the structure’. I often say that I get my work out by any means necessary! Whatever it take to get what’s in my head OUT…..is fair game. That’s why I scrape and sand as well as build to get the feel I want in my work. No one can tell me that that’s wrong. It’s just my way. Having said that, I’m also smart enough to know that I did indeed want to learn those techniques before I chose to use ‘em or throw them away.
I absolutely agree with what you say about giving ourselves permission not to worry!
Happy to hear you’ve found your own way with writing! It really can be a struggle but well worth the fight once you find your own way.
Cheers!
xo
Laz…this is so lovely. As I read, I felt I was being taken along a stream of spring air. Thanks for sharing how your creative journey has unfolded….and I look forward to future “finds” as well!
xo, Tina
Thank you so much Tina! Golly, what a lovely thing to say! So happy you’re along for the ride! :)
xo
“Sometimes it takes a traumatic event to bring out an ‘all bets are off’ attitude”
I have done my best work after a traumatic event. I grieve then rise like a Phoenix and get a lot done. However, I hope the current journey I am on will end that cycle now that I am finally living my truth and enjoying life. That my best work will come out every day.
Great matching of ideas……
I’m a big believer in getting solid foundations and principles under your belt in the form of formal education and training so I understand your story. A certain level of professionalism and wisdom, I sense, and think, comes from doing the hard core training, wondering why you’ve done it, and then stepping out of those “method” or “box” and creating your own thing.
Typically, if we artists stick with it, what results is pretty dang amazing.
Irene.
Lovely just lovely. Yes, the technicality of things can surely get in the way. That whole thing about being perfect or getting it just right. I love that you are self taught. I’ve recently start playing with acrylic paints. One day I was just called to buy a small canvas, some acrylic paints and play. I found it so nourishing for my soul that I made an agreement with myself that I will do this once a week. I’m so enjoying it and so beautiful because my husband asked me to make 2 pieces for our home and he loved both. When I try to be perfect …i just say to myself “lighten up and have some fun” and I do just that. Life is just grand. Love all that we learn from it. Thanks for sharing this piece.
With lots of sparkle magic,
Alara Castell
Queen of Play + Fun Loving Business Activator
Your journey from self-taught to academically trained to a mix that is uniquely you is inspiring. I think, all too often, we all face this in some form or another in our lives. We lose our joy just as you had. Even if it is not on something that is or will be our livelihood. We seek training and education to get better at something we love – only to find that the knowledge sucks the fun out. Congratulations on working your way to the point that you have your joy, your talent AND the training!
Jennifer Peek
Find Your New Groove
The Freedom to Build Your Business Your Way
Lazarus, I love this story of your process. I think as an artist and a yoga teacher as well…it is always technique that gets you out of a jam. I can totally understand how you lost your inspiration at one point as well. Part of the artists journey. I feel stuck sometimes when i am trying to sketch an engagement ring or wedding band. The idea in my head isn’t translating onto paper. When I stick to more technique with my sketching, everything is better and the frustration starts to melt away. It’s similar in yoga. Poor technique=injury so surely good technique is useful here.
Tracy Matthews
Eco-Luxury jewelry maven and bad-ass yoga teacher