“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” Pablo Picasso

Blind contour drawing brings us closer to Source

Here’s the ugly truth about being an artist.  Actually, its not really so ugly, once you get over the initial shock.  It’s your job to convince me, the art lover/collector, that you know what you’re doing.   You must be a con artist.  Your job is to convince me that what you see is valuable.  Not with a lot of jive talk about what a “genius” you are, not with a pretentious artist statement, or a cool outfit.  Nope.  You must convince me with your art.  The proof is in the pudding.

So how do we do this?  It depends an awful lot on the genre and structure you have chosen to engage.  Whatever your style, your media, your genre, your discipline, your structure, you must attack it with everything you have and become a master.  Practice your art.  Put yourself through the wringer.  Only then can you say what you have to say with conviction.  Humble yourself before the truth, for the truth will set you free.  Confidence comes with mastery.  Then you will be a true Con Artist.  It’s a life-long pursuit.

If total freedom is your goal, then you better get yourself truly free.  How do you do this?  Check out the ancient texts, like the Bible or the Yoga Sutra of Pantegeli or Platonics.  Play with children.  Meditate.  Channel Pollock.  Loose your mind.   I don’t know.  It’s your journey, right?

If you want to paint representationally then you must humble yourself before the master of nature.   Some call Him God.  Some call Her Gaia.  Whatever name you give It, you will find it in the Source.  Not your left brain’s version of Source, but the real thing.  There is God in your hand and in the unwanted weed in your lawn.  Learn how to see It.  Draw what you see.  God is everywhere.

They say it’s the right brain that is the creative part of your mind.  But I beg to differ.  It’s the left brain, where ego resides, that revels in making up stuff that really isn’t there.  The right brain sees objectively.  Whereas, the left brain is highly subjective.  It has an idea of what a hand looks like, which is stereotypically crude five fingered monstrosity a child might draw to shut the art teacher up.  The left brain thinks it knows.  It is arrogant and bossy.

So here’s a news flash.  The left brain doesn’t know shit, it just thinks it does.  Only the right brain has the ability to connect with Source, as it really presents Itself.  The right brain is objective.  It is the left brain’s job to enable and empower the right to do what it does best.  It must be retrained.  That’s what I do for a living.

So in order to get to the place where you can stand next to your painting and say with conviction, “this is the shape God Himself revealed to me,” you will need to learn how to shut off the ego-ridden Left brain and start listening to the Source only the Right brain can see.

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If you like/don’t like or want to add your thoughts to the conversation, I encourage you to comment.  Also, you may want to get a copy of Point of Art – Second Edition, or download it today.   I offer career coaching for those serious about a career in art. Don’t forget to check out  The Portrait – a painting video  and The Power of Positive Painting, the original portrait painting video.