Telephonitis

I always keep a sketch that need working on next to the phone. I mastered Talking while working when at my past Studio at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria Va, I had work to do and tourist would drop in and want to talk.. it always took them awhile to realize eye contact while talking with me was not necessary. Now that I am alone in a rural community, the phone works great, it makes my brain go on auto-mode and the work actually looks less labored then when it gets my total brain attention.

Even long silent periods on the phone are valuable.The imagination grinds away just in the “presence” of another copacetic person. But not every person is suitable for this sort of seance. Some minds are too busy, babbling, lightweight, pointless.

We spend altogether too much time busy with impedimenta these days, and the phone can be one of the worst axis of busyness. But the type of phone call you talk about is different. A connected and open space between two close friends, with no expectations, is simply great for the soul and the self confidence.

Maybe for those with intact hearing random phone calls might be engaging. But for the rest of us even necessary business calls are a chore. After asking my caller to please speak louder and more slowly we usually agree to “email me.” It takes concentration to hear and anything that takes that much effort isn’t worth the bother. It is so distracting it takes me away from whatever I’m doing, not just painting. A misheard comment leads to misunderstanding. In contrast, I enjoy Skype immensely. Seeing my expat loved ones speak combined with sound on full volume is enjoyable. Also, be careful of leaving any device in your ear for prolonged periods. It can create problems as well; keep your ear pieces clean. Beyond all that, blessed silence is a treasure.

My relationship with my mom deepened when I began painting in 2007. She lives 4 hours away by car and at 87 she is less mobile. I put her on speaker phone and we talk away while I paint. Ever interested she asks about my latest work along with the mundane of every day life. It relieves the loneliness of the studio and hers too. I also text my painting progress to far away relatives. Another way of bringing my loved ones into my studio and life.

I could not agree with you more about sound and voice being a stimulant rather than a distraction when painting. I often spend hours painting in the evening with the TV on or frequently in the company of a friend via the phone. Rather than distractions, I see both as a way of reducing the tension of trying to create a perfect painting and allowing the mind to have a romp on its own. These “distractions” (I see them as a support team) allow me to enjoy a random fling of the brush with a foot tap or two to the music. It gives me a sense of freedom and yet keeps my mind open for the more thoughtful parts of the work. The phone call, the radio or TV make good company in my studio.

There seems to be mounting evidence that having a cell phone against your body (i.e., in your pocket) can stimulate cellular changes that can turn cancerous. Apparently even a couple of inches away, such as a belt ‘holster,’ is preferable. Attached to the easel for long periods would no doubt be better, assuming the cord is long enough. The ear piece you show, of course, is far preferable to holding the phone itself against your ear…especially if you have long conversations. A precaution probably worth the trouble.

Telephonitis? Not a problem for me, but I totally distracted myself by trying to read EVERY person’s distractions!

I definitely agree with your response concerning working while talking on the telephone. Sometimes the drawings or paintings or monotypes just “take off” while talking on the phone. A large drawing that might have been a struggle for days will suddenly complete itself! I notice the effect is better when talking with some friends than others. I just need to watch out for tripping over things while backing up from the work to assess progress, or losing balance on my stool.

I can let the phone ring and not answer it but it drives my husband nuts.

If I am lying in bed looking at my IPhone and reading my email I always wait to open yours till I get on the big computer so I can savor every word. You make me think about things in a different way. I’m not as prolific a painter as you are. I have distractions too but I think my biggest problem is me. I paint a lot for poster contest. My motto is “If you don’t enter you can’t win.” I enjoy the challenge and if I win, which I have won several, I bask in the glory but only to my self. Actually I am always surprised when I do win. I also feel luck has a lot to do with it. If the same people win time after time I feel some resentment but I’m sure they feel the same about me. When someone says they love my art that is my affirmation as an artist. When something comes out well I am surprised and thankful. I hate to through something out because I messed up. Fortunately I haven’t had to do that much but on the other hand I guess I don’t take many chances which could have turned out better.

How can you not have noticed that women have always been animals that do more than one thing at a time? Currently I’m emailing, sorting a fabric collage in my lap, while wondering what time my son will get up and considering lunch.

Might this be another way to get into right brain? It does appear to mimic playing music as a way to distract the “monkey mind” and allow creativity to just flow. Is it a hearing thing vs a doing thing? I bet it is.

I generally groan when I get a weekly email – but truly look forward to your thoughtful prose. Thanks for the nudges, anecdotes and encouragement. I somehow feel bonded to a bigger group through you.

When you see a finished painting, does a conversation you were having while you were in the process of painting come to mind? I often “hear” what was happening in the background, it becomes part of what I was working on.

Totally agree with today’s letter about the telephone. I often MUST have an auditory distraction to be able to paint freely. It makes such a difference it is almost like turning a switch on. I did a whole painting while talking to a friend on the phone about nothing to do with art.

Your teachings on our brains is something I especially like. I don’t seem to manage painting when I am on the phone, but my best painting days are with other artists. Your description of the importance of relationships I think is spot on.

I am a new subscriber to your painting tips and another artist friend told me about you. I am very much a beginner in all of this in the world of painting and am not very good. In terms of the phone, my studio does not have one except my cell phone and I try to keep that in the car. I much prefer music and then I can sing and paint!…. as long as no one walks in! Maybe when I get to the point that I’m selling my work I’ll have a phone and laptop but not now. Its all I can do to get a website!!

I learned long ago to ignore the phone — isn’t that why they invented answering machines? Now, I am the only “kid” on my block with land line and answering machine, and NO CELL PHONE! Also, my hearing is not what it used to be, so I miss a lot of calls just because I cannot hear the ringer (even at loudest level). If the message is important (doctor’s office, or family member in a good mood), I will return the call on my cordless phone so I can walk around and chat at the same time.

My phone rarely rings anymore — texting is my way now!!! I have grand kids!!!! Phones — really?????

I went through a long, sad period where the only art I did was doodling while on the phone. I have some hearing loss and avoid the phone because I haven’t found really comfortable technology. I really need to try one of those blue teeth things. I think it might be interesting to try painting and talking at the same time. When I face paint, I do some talking but generally am fairly quiet. I tailor this to the person I”m painting though. Some are chatterboxes, and I’ll joke/tease them a little. Some give very deep, personal, and interesting revelations, tell me their problems or their secret hopes. It’s an honor to hear.

The telephone is the work of the devil. God never wanted us to talk over great distances like that. He wants us to meet with one another, do things together and be peaceful.

My Grandma never phones any of those stores you mentioned in your letter. She phones us and gets us to go get things for her. She is badly broken down, (arthuritis) so no matter what we are doing we boys drop our tools and go get stuff for her. Too bad those two grannies never met!!!

Actually, many people are a lot smarter and better off now because of multitasking. It turns out that the human brain can take in, dish out, learn and archive at the same time. In a way we have been up to now, underutilized. Thank you Robert for these letters. I read every one.

I talk on the phone while I am painting, and find it is not a problem for me, but often enhances the painting. And I always listen to either books on CD, or sports talk radio while I am painting. I have always felt that listening to voices somehow helps me paint better – like it engages a part of my brain that, if not engaged, disrupts and tightens my painting. So I am heartened to hear that this feeling of mine is supported by science!

My distraction is just gazing at my studio!!! From the living room of my house I look down on the roof of my studio in the garden below. The lights are on and they glow through the clear panels inserted in the roof,making it look light-filled and exciting, I can hear the music playing, and the gas heater is keeping it warm. So whats the problem? Its all too easy…..I could go in there and stay for hours, BUT I need a challenge, a time restraint, a deadline , a big push!!!!! So I wait till I have to go in and prepare work for the next days class, then stay up half the night to get it done!!!Somehow I never seem to get my own personal work started……there is never enough time, I say!!!! What contrary creatures we are.

Doing demos and explaining things as you go along is a real art that a lot of demonstrators have not taken the time to learn. Some demonstrators should just shut up and let the viewer’s minds go where they will, take notes, or write out questions for after. The worst thing is when they stop painting to answer a question and go on and on.

Speaking and hearing are separate brain functions. For me, to speak while in the zone is impossible. And then there is listening…which involves immersion in what is being heard. But music takes me places, and I can enter into a conversation with what I’m hearing. My response is only in the painting.

My second comment of the day but I can’t let it pass! I agree with Gil Giroux about demonstrators who can’t talk and paint at the same time and the people who are completely oblivious that their questions are delaying the demonstrations. I can’t resist adding an example: A one-hour program demo where the demonstrator got so little done that he had to come back and finish it in a second program. He lived in a different state so it was several months before he could come back to complete the one-hour demo he had started. No questions were allowed this time until after the demo was completed but there were still several people who just didn’t get it and had to be reminded.

My friends and family have to tolerate more than mumbles and periods of silence during phone calls to me while I’m working! Brief responses offer a clue that I’m painting, and after important information is exchanged, the call is ended. I used to scowl towards the ringing annoyance and sometimes not even pick up, but then realized that the brief interruption of a phone call has a way of re-setting my brain. I now make an effort to bring myself out of deep concentration and answer the phone! It’s good for me!

So it’s been understood that listening to non verbal or instrumental music while painting puts one in connection with the right side of the brain, this being a good thing. Is the verbal part of music different from the verbal speech? Interesting thought!

Hi, Robert, I am one who cannot do two things at once. I tried teaching a class last week, talking and painting a demo portrait and the painting did not come out well. I have to concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. Either I do This or That. Not both. Single-minded, Donna C. Veeder

Another comment: I love the hands in Schiele’s paintings and also Sargent’s paintings. I once believed all those people really had those graceful hands Sargent did. ! Now I know better.

“Leave a message at the shack and we’ll call you back” by putting the telephone in a remote location or outside the house, in the garage or a shack, and using voicemail, one can get much more work done. Personally, I listen to the message machine sometimes when I am “indisposed”. This is how the Amish get work done. They have their phones outside the house.

I too enjoy painting and flapping my jaw. I do well with that kind of distraction, along with some good music in the background. I think I am ADD! My WORST distraction is doing my online banking/laundry/cleaning.