Painting and Writing: Made from the Same Cloth
I’m by my own admission a creative-minded person. I appreciate
good art and especially good paintings. I marvel at the seeming ease of the artwork
that I’m attracted to. I have a list of favorite artists and find myself returning
repeatedly to see their work at exhibitions. I also love to read a good novel,
and over the years, I tend to gravitate toward a certain type of writing that
is uniquely descriptive and captivating. I have my favorite authors, those that
both inspire me and help to fuel my imagination.
I love to paint. I love the feel of the oil pigments
squishing around the bristles and hairs of my well-worn brushes as they glide
across on the canvas. I love the blast of bright color as much as the subtle
gradations of color. It’s fun to watch what the paint does when you place one
shade next to another, the way that similar values complement one another, and opposing
values make the canvas pop. Most of all, I love to see the picture in front of
me that is so perfectly created by nature come to life on my canvas in my
unique interpretation. However, a
successful painting does not happen without some effort, years of practice, and
some good instruction.
I also love to write. I’ve been a technical writer for more
than twenty years, but I’ve only been writing creatively, other than an
occasional newspaper story, for eight months. It’s fun to watch my characters
come to life on the page, their personalities developing as I write. It’s fun
(and not easy!) to come up with distinctive descriptions that bring them to
life. I love to interweave sharp turns and unexpected twists. I enjoy inserting
surprises that grab the reader. It’s also satisfying to hear from my readers
how much they like the story and, if it is a story under development, how they
want to hear more about the characters. Just like with painting, I’ve had to
learn a lot about how to create a good story. There’s a certain structure to it.
I have to be on guard to “show,” not “tell.” Using the five senses to convey
emotions and paint a picture really add body to a story. I’m getting some good
instruction, both from experts in the field and from reading books.
I’ve been thinking, as I switch back and forth between the
two creative processes, about how much alike both painting a picture and
writing a story really is.
When I am ready to start a new painting, I begin by prepping
my tools, including choosing my brushes, and selecting and laying out the paint
colors and mediums on my palette. I begin the painting by laying an undercoating
of thinned out color, effectively transforming the white canvas into a toned
canvas. While that dries, I charcoal sketch a thumbnail of the scene in a small
sketchbook that I always carry with me. My sketch reveals the values of the
scene. I don’t put in a lot of details. Once I’m happy with the sketch, I put
it aside and use it as a reference. I sketch the picture on my canvas with a
brush, paying attention to composition, always aware of the focal point. I
begin the underpainting, using thinned paint, blocking in the large areas of
color until all areas in the picture are generally blocked out. For the second
stage, I put in the darkest darks with thinned paint. As I do so, I measure and
re-measure, making sure that all the shapes relate in size and shape. I progress
to lighter and lighter shades, starting with largest shapes and gradually going
smaller and smaller, until there’s nothing left but detail work. As I go
lighter, my paint becomes thicker, until the lightest light is three
dimensional. I review the painting over the next few days and adjust it. Finally,
a critique by a fellow artist provides a subjective view of the overall
structure, composition and coloring.
When I write, I also prepare my “canvas,” usually writing on
the computer in a word processing program. I start with an idea, however small,
and I begin to write it down. Usually there is a main character that emerges,
and then secondary characters. If the story is historical, I begin to narrow
down the era, and then I begin to do research on that time period. Like in
painting, this is the drawing. I ask myself what the characters wearing, what
are the social norms, what kind of transportation will they be using, and what
types of work will they be doing. When I think about my main character, I need
to know from the start what she/he wants and what the main obstacle will
be. I contemplate the ‘hook’– what will
propel the reader forward through the story. This is the focus, the thing that
pulls the reader’s attention, similar to a focal point of a painting. Then, I
start writing, putting in an underpainting of the story, a stripped-down version
of a story line and setting. The second stage incorporates the emotions and
sensual descriptions of the actions, thoughts, and view of the characters and
the setting. The detail work is in the editing, taking out unnecessary words, rearranging
sections, deleting and rewriting, cleaning up spelling and punctuation. Having
an editor review the final draft provides the subjective view of the writing.
Sharing with writers that I trust to provide constructive feedback is also valuable.
Both painting and creative writing are fun, involve a
lot of prep work, good instruction, and a whole lot of rolling up of the
sleeves and digging in. They are both sometimes aggravating, and more often, truly
rewarding. I feel pretty lucky that I don’t have to choose between the two. I
can do one or the other, whenever I choose. And, I’m lucky to have a fantastic
community of writers and artists to learn from, share my work with, and
exchange information. What more can I ask for?
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