Discernment and Harness: Techniques for Painters
My teaching practice is an organic process between what I like to call structure and release. I Give a little technique- then Ask you to step aside. Let the painting lead you where it may.
A healthy discussion transpired in the annual live workshop for my Dive Deep Program. I was asking the group to reflect upon what it means to not only consider the formal aspects of our paintings but to paint from pure emotion. How do we also balance and incorporate emotions into the process? Ideally, we are able to balance both. In order to do this, we discern first and then harness.
My teaching practice is an organic process between what I call like to call structure and release. Give a little technique and then step aside. Let the painting lead you where it may.
Don’t think. Then think. Repeat.
Intuition and logic. Then logic and intuition.
Balancing these two ways of working brings elevated harmony to our work and really creates a high-caliber painting practice.
When we discern, our problem-solving abilities are heightened. We start seeing what makes a composition sing. We get to decide what is worthy of our attention and proceed from there. We proceed by harnessing what is important. Whether that be a relationship, a painting, or the intimate process of painting.
When we are purely in the therapeutic process of creating, we step into the emotion and let it lead the way. As professional painters, we take care in an extra step. We learn to name and control the emotions that arise while creating. To harness is to feel and clarify our communication with ourselves and the outer world.
I think this might be how the minds of great creatives work. By discerning, harnessing, and directing their bodies of work into symphonies, choreographed dances, or paintings. The art movement of our time is an “Artistic Pluralism” that accepts a variety of styles that commonly aim to express the individual and the development of unique perspectives.
In the words of the painter Squeak Carnwath-
“As artists, our responsibility is to reveal consciousness - to produce a human document.”.
We do this by asking, what gift do I possess? Then harness just that through action!
One way to begin the practice of differentiating between harnessing and discerning is to play and spend time with chosen colors. Over time you will develop a skill for sensing their frequency.
Working With Color Representations:
Red and Orange come to mind when I consider harnessing. Black, white, and indigo/purple come to the forefront as symbols for discernment.
Red is a take-charge color, assisting with beginning, moving, and working with our life force. Indigo is the color of the third eye, symbolizing clear thought, spiritual contemplation, self-reflection, and clairvoyance (the concept of the sixth sense or strong intuition).
Ultimately, Indigo governs visualization, clarity, and discernment. Please enjoy this FREE meditation on Indigo HERE to learn more.
If you would like ALL 7 rays of Color Meditations, find them HERE.
For the 7-week Color Theory Class on all the colors from Red to Indigo (over 15 hours of instruction) + the meditations added in as a bonus, go HERE.
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