Painting the world as I see it.

I am absolutely no expert, but for me, the connection between my reference photo and my canvas is my eyes. I just use my hand as a tool to hold the brush with which I transfer paint from the palette to the painting surface to the exact place where I can see it belongs. Therefore, being observant is a key element of my painting process. With my eyes, I observe color, value, depth, and as I develop my hand-eye coordination, my paintings also seem to improve. 

I have always been an observer. It was a crucial part of my work as a pastor, and as I am transitioning into the role of an artist, seeing has become a vital part of what I do. Of course, I have to learn what to look for, but once I see it, I can’t unsee it, if you know what I mean.

Here is what is interesting:

“Scientifically, our brains filter vast amounts of data, acting as prediction machines that construct reality rather than passively recording it. Philosophically, this suggests we only perceive a small fraction of the world, often seeing what we expect rather than what is actually there” (yes, it’s Google talking). In short, what this means is that you and I will never see things in the same way. The probability that we perceive color in exactly the same way is close to zero according to scientists. So, we can be looking at the same blue sky, and the shade of blue that you see might be totally different from what I see. “We do not see things as they are; we see them as we are, based on our internal models, predictions, and mental filters” (Google again).

Here is my main takeaway from this:

As artists, we are 100% painting for ourselves. We are creating art according to our own subjective view of the world. It is art created by us for our own pleasure. Someone else will never in a million years be able to see what we saw when we used our hand to dip a brush into paint and applied it to a canvas. 

For me personally, this takes off a lot of pressure, not only in painting, but in doing life, because if everyone looks at everything from a different perspective, who is setting the norm? Therefore, I don’t have to squint my eyes if I don’t want to. I can observe the heck out of my environment as much as it pleases me, and I can put it to canvas for the sole purpose of creating joy for myself. 

Be or become an observer of life. Don’t be the one who chews and swallows without tasting. And don’t let someone who is always squinting their eyes tell you what to see. 

If you’re an artist, train yourself to never be in a hurry to complete any work to the liking of others. Take your time… see what only you can see… take it in… slowly and with full enjoyment of every color, shadow, depth, perspective, highlight that you can find… then really see where it belongs on your canvas… now take your brush with the tool you were given to create the most extraordinary things… mix the color you see… and place it where it belongs…

(Photo credit - lilartsy on Unsplash)