The drawing went well last night. Hadn’t planned on the pool, or getting all vertical, or much of anything else that happened. Never do, really. Planning’s overrated. If there were a universally recognized symbol for planning I’d get a T-shirt made, a big red slashed-circle NO PLANNING.
Sure, saleable is good- And for some of us, necessary. But trying to hit that mark… If you’ve got those kinds of chops, that’s a good thing. Me, I've learned to draw what I love, and then think about sales. Because if my heart’s not in it… Well, that’s really all we have to offer, isn’t it: Ourselves, and our best.
For me, a lot of that’s about pushing aside preconceptions, refusing that intellectual overlay- mmn, this element doesn’t really make sense, how can I make it work with the others, that kind of overthinking- that often clouds rather than clears. Usually, if I leave well enough alone, the drawing will move forward in a way that’s satisfying and efficient. So far, so good.
So only a couple things, or at least their beginnings- not a lot, compared to the epic revisings some drawings have suffered- went the way of the Mayans. Who probably didn’t build any of this, even the oldest parts, not their style. You never know though. Maybe some rebellious Mayan princess went rogue on ‘em, blew her inheritance on a second year art student full of revolutionary new ideas, and this got half-built before the money ran out.
Half-hearted sucks. Half-built, though- That’s good. Leaves room for all kinds of possibilities.
3 comments:
Another neat piece.
I agree, to a certain extent, that planning is overrated. Some time I just go out and do it. Not worrying about how the end will turn out. Though I do have a "plan" as in, what it should roughly look like in the end. Trying to foresee every detail is just impractical and boring.
Thanks, Abhishek. Agreed, it's about balancing what you want from both your process and result. For me, most of the joy of making art lies in exploration and discovery, so the last thing I want to know or intend is what the finished drawing will become. It's the finding that's fun; the rest is just finishwork.
Good post, Mark. I really identify with what you're saying here. When you go in without a plan, you're more apt to fall back on intuition which often yields rewards that you can't imagine beforehand.
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