This is your brain on painting

What a seminal concept, Robert! This is why art of all kinds can be called “sexy”, I believe! When music, visual art, sculptural shapes, dance (and the list goes on) tweaks those primal chords, we are again totally alive critters willing to replenish the earth, as originally instructed.

RE: This is your brain on music. There is a documentary from the book that was broadcast this summer. There is also a website.

This is your brain on Art: There is a documentary series made in Britain called “How Art Made The World”. Last night (Aug. 13) was episode 2 of 5 on the Knowledge Network. It answers many of the same questions as This Is Your Brain On Music. Also has amazing website.

Actors and musicians often express themselves as visual artists as well. Art, in all its various forms is hardwired in us however it eventually surfaces. The dominant talent will predominate. We could produce an “A” list of recognizable names who dabbled in the visual arts before we recognized them as actors and musicians: Dennis Hopper, Anthony Quinn, Jane Seymour, John Mellencamp, Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Winters, Rosie O’Donnall, Grace Slick, Tony Bennett … it is a long list, and we could even include those in an extended range of expression from Winston Churchill to Prince Charles as inspired political servants.

Art in general, allows one to concept outside the norm …. therein may be its asset above all others’ perspective. I am thankful for that cognitive process – the whim of inspiration and seeing that which others do not.

I vividly recall my frustrated pianist mother trying to teach me piano. I could nail a piece by ear in minutes as a child … but lacked the dedication and focus to become a musician. We both gave up. As much as I appreciate music I picked up a pencil and could SEE. It was as comfortable as an old pair of warm slippers. It fit.

When we speak of rhythm isn’t that simply composition? It can be musically or visual in expression. An actor utilizes cadence when delivering his or her lines in the same vein of rhythm. It is all compiled in a wonderfully rich condiment of expression, as artists.

The art muse will surface. It may be musically, literary, or inspire us with visual three- dimensional conception. As long as we do not turn from our natural inclination and labor as a CPA or corporate manager as a substitute for our calling (even though I still hope to publish my book :-) ) …. we will find peace.

We will be sidetracked. We will have to devote time and effort to our livelihood. But, I can’t think of anything more sad than to depart from that which one is called to do.

Rythmn and repetition I understand but novelty? Less than perfect? Are we not taught and driven to perfection? Why is there no one set of agreed upon rules for judging art shows? Are we to be continually cursed by the “whim” of the juror? Perhaps this explains why many of we artists do not enter art shows. At least it is why this one does not.

I am not sure about rhythm and repetition of sound and how it relates to me as an artist.

What I do know is this…

Most of the time I have music playing in my studio.

Sometimes it is hip hop from some obscure radio station in Europe.

Sometimes it is something more cerebral and is recalling my reptilian brain with vibrations from the past.

I am not sure about much, but as painting soothes my soul, music fills my heart.

I do know that when I am doing something in public and a crowd gathers, I always have my IPOD cranked up.

At this point, it is just because I want to be left alone and not have to explain what I am doing. When really I have run out of blue where I am now painting orange.

I do not know how you can come up with such beautifully and sensitively written letters every week, but please don’t stop! I look forward to every one of them and learn something with each one. I file them in my Robert Genn file. If you publish your letters in book form I’ll be the first in line to buy one and perhaps a Robert Genn painting to hang next to it.

I am also an artist (oil painter) and have been painting for 30 years,the last 3 years professionally, and I am recently preparing for a show (with a theme) this month (August) to celebrate my anniversary as an artist. I booked this show last November feeling I was giving myself plenty of time but again I have found myself painting under pressure. It’s funny how life gets in the way and how things unexpectedly come up but I realize it just makes life that much more exciting and our life story that much more interesting. “Stress comes when you resist what is”…so I just go with the flow.. At the start of my preparation for my show I took a bad fall and had a concussion and was not able to paint for a few months , followed by wonderful opportunities to be featured in magazines which took time to prepare, unexpected shows which required me to make new paintings for (out of my theme), which brought me to the month of May the month I wrap up classes the month before school is out for the kids. : ) Like all artists it requires discipline to work at home when I go into my studio (at home) it’s like I am at the office. Laundry, dishes etc. are done after my day is done. But the summer holidays for the kids can be quite challenging. What works well for me over the years is to start my painting day at 3:00 AM allowing me time to get into my painting without distractions and by noon or 1:00 PM I have put in 9-10 hours allowing time for the kids in the afternoon to keep life in balance. But even so I am here the last week before my show working hard to finish up a couple of paintings. Two weeks earlier I had woken at 2:30 to work on finishing a 5′ piece which was to be my “star” of the show but because of problems with the canvas (the paint was not adhering well to it) I had to scrap it. Surprisingly enough I let it go without being upset, it was 6:30 am at this time so I crawled back into bed an hour later I got up took out a 4′ canvas and started a new painting. I think one gets to a point where you say “whatever” bring it on…what’s next. I rather laugh then cry anyway….. With the short time left it had to be smaller size canvas (4′). Last night I had I did my longest stretch yet it was 17 hours. The painting already with one complete coat was ready to be completed. I started painting at 1:30 AM and finished at 7:30 PM with 2 short breaks of 1/2 for lunch and breakfast and with 2.5 hours of sleep. It was tough but at the end of my day I was so happy I could cry if It wasn’t for exhaustion. the funny thing is I love this painting so much more than the one I had to scrap. I guess there was a reason after all. A year ago I painted another painting, that won 2nd prize for the International artist award, under the same pressure. I feel like there is something that takes over me when I paint under pressure which is hard to explain. It’s as if there is a shift from mind to heart, my heart completely opens where at times I catch my self painting with a smile on my face and tears flowing down my cheeks. It’s so beautiful and that feeling is what it’s all about.

The past few months I have been telling myself that my next solo show I will give myself much more time and block in time for the unexpected such as concussions, extra shows, scrap paintings…. But maybe not….maybe I just happen to be one of those artist that works well under pressure and I would hate to miss out on those beautiful moments.

That book sounds interesting, I immediately thought of meeting a musician from Africa many years ago who spoke Hottentots. I had coincidentally just read a book called “The Mother Tongue” or some such that said that Hottentots was the first language that all others descended from. Hottentots is a mix of clicks and other noises that sound allot like Be Bop, so this all makes sense, at least to someone.

I think that art or music making is really a very individual undertaking and when all is said and done, although you can learn a lot from others, there is a certain core within that you that you cannot ignore. That which you produce may or may not appeal to a large fan club but the honesty of it might satisfy your soul.

I was just considering this prior to your writing. Sunday, for some reason I was drawn to doing a watercolor. I’d been working on my oil paintings for weeks without a thought of doing anything else. But Sunday I turned on a CD that my granddaughter had burned for me of Michael Jackson songs and my entire insides changed. I just had to get out all my watercolor paints and touch some Arches 300 lb hot press paper. I spent the entire day listening to Michael J. and having a great time painting with my watercolors. I found that there were a few particular songs of his that I kept playing over and over. They gave me what I needed for the painting I was working on.

I realized that when I paint with watercolors I always want to listen to music. Some days it’s country. Other days it might be instrumentals, opera or pop. But always a CD of just music. On the other hand when I’m working with my oils I’m compelled to turn on a good movie that I know well and listen to it while I paint. Movies feel slower to me, very comfortable. As I take in the familiar background music and voices of the characters, it allows my mind to wander slowly in more of a meditative state. It is the music I yearn for in order to put myself in the right frame of mind.

This realization caused me to do what I do best, analyze this behavior. The watercolor medium, to me, is light and airy. I love to add mica’s and iridescents into the paint to give it that sparkle. I feel different, lighter, spontaneous. When I’m working with oils I’m more serious, contemplative, and direct. I suppose all this is because watercolors dry very fast and, therefore, I need to be faster with my decisions and brush work in order to get into the paint while it’s still fresh and wet. With oils I know there will be a long open time with the medium so I have no need to rush. I can take it slow with no stress of wrong decisions made that could ruin the work.

My conclusion is this: If I find that I need to lighten up a bit I will now turn on some good music and jump into a watercolor painting. If I need to be more mindful or just work something out, I know to pick out that old movie and go directly to my easel. Either way I’m listening to music which enhances my art.

We know how music can move us. It seems easier to get emotional when listening to music than when looking at a painting. Much of it is probably due to the fact that the visual world is silent and it’s vibrations are considerably more subtle. Certainly there are people who get a tear in their eye when looking at a painting, but my guess is that this is rather rare, for the most part, silence demands more attention and awareness than sound.

I base my guess on thirty years of playing music and around fifty-five years of making art. I’ve learned that there is no way of making a visual equivalent to sound. Music and art, though they share many aspects, are two very different worlds. But, it seems to me, the visual world is ‘musical’ if you know how to see it.

I’ve spent many hours sitting high on the bank of a creek that flows some fifteen feet below behind our house observing the appearance of the ever-changing visual world. After many years of looking and paying attention to the relationships of shape and tone and color, one day the visual world became ‘musical’. It’s not that the visual became audible, but it certainly became magical.

Along with painting I have added writing, especially poetry to my repertoire. This month I awaken myself at 3:15am as others do the same to write in whatever state of being we find ourselves in at that hour. It is the “3:15 Experiment” that has been going on for several years. What I have noticed is that the same habits in creating a visual piece are in my process of creating poetry. The elements are musical and are what you highlight here as rhythm, repetition and novelty. Works need to flow and sing rhythmically, they repeat as you say for beat as well as, to create an environment for the audience to settle into, some continuity, and then there is the letting go into discovery that creates the novelty that surprises, intrigues and mystifies in a very satisfying way. These three elements are basics for the playful work of creativity. They are seeds to an amazing garden whether in sound, vision or through the written word, that also comes to life dynamically as it is read aloud.

Speak to us about the signing and dating of our paintings. I’m all for recognition but too often a signature/date in the bottom right corner compromises the composition. If I can’t camouflage my signature on the face of the canvass, I will put it on the right-hand, vertical edge. And if this was my biggest problem, I wouldn’t have any!

I just got back from three weeks in India, and I return to a messy studio littered with pots of acrylics and tubes of oils. I have to start cleaning before I can move, but since the trip was such a staggering inspiration, a million ideas have been brewing in my mind. How to translate THAT into paint? For once I didn’t bring my easel & brushes- we were moving too fast and I didn’t want to carry too much stuff besides my camera and sketchpad, but the images of the last three weeks have been forever burned into my brain.

How to capture this experience and translate it into a visual medium without slavishly copying my photographs? First order of the day: MUSIC. Somehow the rhythms and repetition of music, the crude alive sound of simple primitive instruments will direct me into what is, essentially, the translation of a state of being?

Regarding Dan McGrath’s paintings. My Grandfather, Father and brother were all draftsmen. I made my living as a newspaper illustrator. When I do oil paintings I also find it hard to stray from the illustrator in me. The composition is always first priority, and my teacher will say, “you’re not an inventory taker!” I like your paintings, especially Last Colors and Slope. It’s hard to go from a lifetime of making a living as a technical artist to the wonderful loose brushwork often found in oils. Sometimes you might have to actually make a mistake. I was use to deadlines and the work had to be printable every time. I use that same principal when painting and therefore hesitate to try something different. Here’s to letting go Dan!

My main trouble is staying with a subject or a medium. I work in watercolor, pastel, pen and ink and oil as well as mezzotint and other print techniques. I can’t seem to force myself to stick with one medium and build a body of work – I’ll do 5 or 6 in a medium then jump. Galleries don’t seem to care for that. Any suggestions?

Hi Dan,

I think that despite excellent painting and emotion in your paintings, you have one compositional problem which manifests as lack of emotion in some cases. Most of your paintings featured here have lot of happening in the lower half of the painting and almost nothing happening in the upper half (or the other way around). As I look at them, I look down immediately and then I look up and there is almost nothing there – it feels like starting to read a story and then there is sudden silence – as if you don’t want to talk to me any more. The clean neat lines add to the feeling of a clinical definitive statement that doesn’t leave any doubt that there is nothing else to say. If there was some object or area inviting me to wonder about it, that would feel like an emotional element – as if there is a message you have put there for me.

Of course, I may be wrong, but perhaps for the sake of an argument you can try composing a piece with this in mind and see what happens.

Whether this is useful to you or not, I think that you are an excellent artist going in a good direction and you will give pleasure to many art connoisseurs to come.

To Cary, If you want to build up an inventory and get into galleries you may have to make some choices. Can you pick two mediums? The way I have handled this is to work in one medium, oil with palette knife, but not limit myself as to subject matter which ranges from abstracts to landscapes. This keeps me from being bored and my galleries don’t seem to mind.

Wrote this amidst music but tracks directly with John, in “See the Music.” I could hear such sounds as these earlier to day, standing amidst the forest panoply before me. Each note and movement of Vivaldi’s Four seasons seemed played out amongst the leaves, each lilting movement of leaf somehow in synch or indeed the actual vision of the sound. And even without movement, the varied lights that splayed across the forest canvas gave visual life to the musical sounds. As if you were watching the very orchestral movements and players entrances and exists in the slightest movement or variation in light

and for surely in the swaying movements, and slightest disturbance of leaves still alight, alife on the trees. The ferns along the forest floor too played in the concert adding whatever note they are, to the complete picture of sound. It was the melding of nature, movement, light, music, and moment to create a canvas of sound and sound of canvas.