The Creative Process

The Eye Should Listen

2009 - 11"x12", Acrylic, graphite, charcoal, newspaper, on wood.

Finished with two coats of Krylon Kamar Varnish #1312

(Private Collection - New York)

www.ErikVP.com

I am always fascinated to learn about the creative process of other artists, musicians, poets, and so on. It's probably the most common question I am asked about my paintings. Below is an example of how my creative process works.

I tend to paint on wood rather than canvas because my artwork is half painting, half drawing. Wood provides a flat, hard surface for drawing. Lately, I have been adding newspaper collage as a first layer. The Brooklyn Rail newspaper works well both for the quality of the paper, and the creative content.

Many of the images in my paintings are seen within the painting. This one is another great example. If you look at the photo above and below, you can see the faint image of the cat, before I have draw it in.

The cat on the right side is less obvious, but the faint image is there as well.

With the basic images sketched out, I then work on the detail for each cat. The black and white patterns are common in my paintings and originate from African and Egyptian art.

The flying eye will be explained later. It's an image I found doing a Google search, printing it out on paper, and gluing it to my painting.

In the image below, I added a horizontal line across the top. I borrowed this idea from Ethopian artist Wosene, although it's also common in Egyptian art.

There is a poem buried within the painting. Before I add any paint, I underline words and phrases in the Brooklyn Rail collage. I organize the words and phrases into a poem. You can also see where the title of the painting came from.

The Vibe Is Established

Blue poetry.

A particular obsession,

Between language and thought.

The eye should listen.

Language, a paradox.

Margins reverberate throughout,

Of proverbs trapped.

The possibilities.

Every dream is vital,

To the thinkers and stones.

Fused so seamlessly,

Without gray spaces.

Seeing a Chinese film.

Asking the same question.

Look, but not always.

The phrase "The eye should listen" stuck in my head and had some influence on the painting. The large flying eye is called The Eye of Horus and the image was taken directly from Wikipedia. I cut out the eye, glued it to my painting, and then painted it.

Why?

As I ask more and more people to contribute their thoughts and ideas to this Blog, I'm frequently met with "sure, but why?"  And the answer to that question lies in the contributions that have yet to be posted.  We are all searching for something, answers to questions rarely asked but ever present in our collective unconscious.  What better way to confront these once insurmountable obstacles than with the thoughts and ideas of a number of people also searching for their own answers.  One thing that I willingly admit to searching for is to become a part of a community of creative minds empowered to confront the uncertainty that once engulfed them because they are not alone.  Together we can discover true meaning and understanding through the utilizing the creative process and experience. 

I'm not certain if this is incoherent rambling or if I am getting to the point.  All I am certain of is that . . . well, I guess I'll have to think about that for a while.