Words and Art
Incorporating Writing Into Your Painting
Words (either written or thought) are the starting point for many creative ideas. What if our writing was somehow incorporated into our paintings? Jean-Michel Basquiat was a perfect example of the canvas becoming a big notebook. His poetic thoughts drawn from his experiences on the streets of New York eventually made their way into his paintings. We can all recognize the graffiti like block writing that was so iconic. (See the image below) While he was working on his paintings, he would have the tv on, listening to people’s conversations, reading books, adding snippets to his paintings.
Layering words onto mixed media artwork
In the video below I teach an integrating technique using writing on kleenex to add to your pieces. The tissue fades and the words remain!
In a previous BLOG POST on How Art can change us, I give some fun exercises for exploring the idea of using words as a jumping off point for our work.
Do you need to be an artist to create art?
If we follow the reasoning above, it follows that ANYONE can be creative and make art given the right stimulation and circumstance. That is why The Art Process Method is so successful. It encourages and exercises that creative muscle, taking the self criticism out of the picture (a sure way to deaden creativity!) By incorporating meditation and self inquiry into the creative process, it opens the doorways to your unique vision and self expression!
