true emotional painting - whose emotion is it, anyway?
by Les Anderson
Much has been written and many words spoken about the subject of "emotional painting" or the "painting of emotion." Let's look at the subject from another worldview. "Captain Dane, that's not funny," said Major Emeril wryly. The Captain had just used his laser rifle to burn his initials onto the shell of the wrecked space ship, as it lay empty on the crater floor. "Let's get out of here." "But sir, I'm just putting the finishing touches on my masterpiece," Dane shouted over the near-unbearable screech of laser on metal. Sparks flew as Captain Dane continued his 'artistic' assault on the metal carcass. Major Emeril rolled his eyes as his subordinate drew circles, paisleys, flowers and numerous unrecognizable shapes, blasting and torching the dead vessel. "Wow, that was such a trip!" exclaimed Captain Dane as the two space explorers made their way back to the shuttle in preparation for their short flight to the orbiting mother ship. "It's exhilarating for me to be able to put my emotions into my artwork that way! I mean, I poured my very soul, all my emotion into that picture! Someday, someone will return to this planet and see my name and my drawing, and they will agree that I am a great artist." The space explorers continued their trek back to the shuttle in silence. "So I told him, 'I don't get it'." Major Emeril related the laser-painting incident to Lieutenant Margot as they sat around the table in the galley of the mother ship. "I mean, all I saw was a huge chunk of scorched metal with indiscriminate shapes." "I know what you mean, sir," replied Margot. "Dane says he pours his emotions into his stuff, but it's not coming across to me, either." "Not coming across?" Captain Dane exclaimed as he walked into the galley. "What's up with that?" Margot was caught off her guard as she stuttered, "Well, sir, it's just that...I mean, you say you pour your emotion into these 'paintings' of yours, but, well, I don't really see much in them that 'moves' me, so to speak. I'm sure they're good, but..." "That does it! It's because you're a woman!" Captain Dane fumed. "I'm gonna..." "Ok, Captain, settle down," Major Emeril said calmly. "Fine," said Dane, quietly. Seething inside, Captain Dane did his best to conceal his contempt for the Major. "Maybe I'm not really putting my emotions into my paintings, and I just think I am," he thought to himself. "Maybe it's the medium. Yeah, that's it; I'll try a different medium." As the task on the next planet approached its end, Major Emeril moved toward the shuttle, followed by Lieutenant Margot, with Captain Dane bringing up the rear. Trudging through thick sand, with high rock walls on both sides, the space travelers remained out of sight of the shuttle. Suddenly, Captain Dane shouted, "Hold it right there!" He aimed his laser rifle at his teammates, finger hovering above the firing button, safety off. "That's far enough. Now give me your weapons." Captain Dane forced Major Emeril to tie up the Lieutenant. She was placed sitting, her back against one wall of the canyon. The Captain then turned his attention to Major Emeril. The winds gusted through the sandy canyon as Lieutenant Margot watched in horror while Captain Dane used his superior officer to paint the wall of the canyon. Major Emeril became the brush as Dane slashed away, casting his mark across the stony canvas of the canyon wall. "Hargh, argh, argh, har, har, ha, ha, ha!" laughed the Captain, possessed by an unexplainable evil. "Here's my heart, my soul, my emotion, painting the picture of a lifetime! Finally I have found the medium of choice." The howling of the wind drowned out the hideous shrieks of terror coming from Lieutenant Margot as she watched in disbelief. Sweat poured from her brow. Bound hand and foot, she writhed in the mixture of mud formed by the combination of her own sweat and the sand of the canyon. The shock, the disgust, the dreadfulness of the scene before her was almost too much to bear. As Major Emeril's screams faded into unconsciousness, the wicked Captain announced, "There, my emotions are conveyed to the canvas." An eerie stillness enveloped the canyon. "I never liked him, Lieutenant," stated Captain Dane. Lieutenant Margot stared straight ahead, her eyes fixed in a horrific stare at the Captain's painting on the canyon wall. Crouching in front of her, Dane gazed intently into Margot's eyes. "There it is. I see it," he said. He fell back onto the canyon floor. Staring at the gray sky Dane thought to himself, "At last, I have found the secret to painting emotion." You see, blog after excruciating blog has come forth about painting emotion or conveying one's emotions to the canvas. I must say that some artists are so totally wrapped up in themselves that they actually forget the creative talent they possess. Are we so vain as to believe that we own the ultimate in emotion, and that we must transmit our emotion in whatever medium we choose? You should still paint with emotion. Paint your feelings, your dreams, your fantasies and your deepest, fullest emotions. If you are able to convey your emotion to the canvas, do it. However, remember the lesson that Captain Dane learned. Captain Dane could only see the true art of painting emotion by taking his eyes off his painting, and looking into the eyes of Lieutenant Margot, the viewer of his painting. It was at that moment that the Captain made this discovery: It is not so much what goes into the painting; it is more what comes forth from the painting. The emotion of the painting is not what the artist conveys to the canvas. The true emotion of the painting is that which is aroused in the depth of the viewer. |
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Copyright © 2007-2008 Canvas and Pen / Levi's Rain™.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Copyright © 2007-2008 Canvas and Pen / Levi's Rain™.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.