Listening: How I Begin A Painting
It’s funny to think that l when I’m making art, listening is probably the most important part of my creative process. And I know it would seem that seeing would be more important, so let me explain…
When I start with a blank canvas, beautiful paper or an empty playlist it is a delicious moment of infinite possibility. Because I don’t paint representationally, I am not trying to make a likeness of anything, rather I am allowing for something to emerge out of the ‘big nothing that contains everything’.
Sometimes, the big nothing can be intimidating, tempting me to rush in and ‘just do something’ but lately I’ve been making it my practice to stay with the pause this liminal space offers, becoming more curious about this space of ‘not yet’. It offers the opportunity to discover a bit more about what is here for me in this moment.
I begin by including movement, bringing my body into the process, making for a greater connection within myself and the creative process. To do this, I simply begin by breathing. Of course I was already breathing, so what I mean is that I bring greater awareness to my breathing. Following the breath in, feeling the expansion and spaciousness it invites; following the breath out, feeling the quality of flow and release.
Breath invites movement and in this movement I can rest my attention more easily on listening in a way that engages a ‘feeling-listening’ state.
From this feeling-listening state I wait for this first gesture to arise. This allows for something a bit more informed to land into the piece. Often it feels like a declaration, a more intentional beginning. And from this place, this mark or color, I listen and pause again. Listen, pause, respond, feel, listen, listen, listen, feel, pause, respond. Sometimes this goes very fluidly, very easily -and it looks and feels like a dance.
Listening, and in particular listening through the body is a kind of cultivation that gives our intuition space to emerge. It is a practice I find myself returning to again and again. Listening is one of the orientations of AZUL, and a way we learn to rest our attention in the body.
This practice of working with the 4 orientations of Azul has greatly informed my painting process, and offers a way to move more in tune with who I am in the moment and in the world.
Riding The Lyrical Wave
This painting came together with a beautiful sense of flow and ease, beginning with a very gentle spaciousness. It retained its sense of softness from beginning to end.
If this sense of flow and ease resonates with you, the original painting is available