“I could have pushed that further. I always feel I can go further. I always want to go further. Whether or not I can is another thing. Sometimes, in wanting to go further, you work so much on something you destroy it.”
Betty Goodwin, Artist

Push And Pull

Art making is about “Push And Pull”.

I believe that ideas and images come to us when they are ready. And when they do arrive, you, as the artist “push”. You get excited, make sketches, take photographs, plan out the composition, decide what size and surface to work on, choose your color palette, and begin. And then you begin to work hard in order to create your idea or fully realize the image you saw in your minds eye.

This is what I call the “Push”.

At some point, your creation in progress begins to suggest things to you that it thinks it needs. It starts responding to what you are doing to it. Your painting starts talking to you and you willingly enter into a dialog with it. You begin creating with it. Your painting tells you what it needs and you respond.

This is what I call the “Pull”.

All creativity is about “Push and Pull”. It is a delicate balance between imposing your will on a painting and allowing it to create itself with you.

I always struggle when I am only “pushing", and trying to impose my will on a painting. The painting always fights back with less than stellar cooperation. Allowing a painting to “pull” you requires quiet, patience, trust and listening on the part of the artist.

Slow down, watch, look, listen and respond.

For me, “Push And Pull” has become a very important part in the process of creating.

Best,

David