Making Art in the Dark

Notes from my art desk

“I like things that look like mistakes.”

-Frances Ha

¹Creative Possibilities/Issue #18

In the middle of teaching my theater class this week the power went out and I was thrust into the dark with a group of students ranging from 12-17 years old. After the initial (delighted) screams, we turned on a few phone flashlights and made our way out into the hallway. For the next forty-five minutes I kept a few ideas from my original lesson plan but mostly improvised a new plan to fit the ten foot by five foot hallway with a small window.

Despite the fact that we mostly abandoned the schedule that I had sweated over for several days leading up to it, the class went great. Maybe part of the reason is that starting in the dark required me to trust my instincts.

Sometime in the last decade I figured out that similar to teaching a theater class in the dark, I like making art without knowing where I’m going until I reach the end. For many frustrated years before that, I started with a final destination in mind and spent the rest of the time trying to figure out the correct route to get there.

This approach left me angry and disappointed that the art in front of me didn’t match the image I’d started with in my head. Starting without a planned destination keeps me open and curious and hopeful during the process, even when I seem to be making wrong turns.

---

Beginning Without a Roadmap

This week I found an open window of time to make some art, something that has been a bit scarce since I added teaching to my schedule (along with maintaining this newsletter and supporting the emotional lives of my four children). How I spent that time is good example of making art without a destination. Luckily I took a bunch of pictures along the way that I can share with you today.

When I take a break from sketching and painting sometimes I need inspiration to jumpstart my motor again. This time I turned on a video art lesson.

In this zoom lesson, artist Michelle Allen asked the students to trust her and follow each step like “Simon Says” while she kept the destination a mystery. Now, I’m not actually good at following directions so you’ll see that eventually I moved into the driver’s seat.

But in the first few photos I’m doing exactly what the artist said to do.

Creating the interesting underlayers of the painting with Posca Acrylic Markers and something to scrape the paint.

---

The next directions she gave:

Place three triangles on your page.

Then place three circles.

Next three teardrop shapes connected to the circles.

This is when she told us we were making birds.

---

By the time I reached the end of the zoom lesson, this is what I had.

Although I’d enjoyed the process of scraping and layering, there wasn’t much that I liked on the page.

I didn’t like how the colors looked together.

I didn’t like the shape of the birds or the dark blue wings.

---

Taking New Turns and U-turns

Instead of giving up I kept taking new turns.

First I changed the shape of the birds by getting rid of the big round heads and adjusting the shape of their beaks.

---

I shifted away from the Posca Acrylic Markers to my Gouache Watercolor Paints. And I played with the background colors.

---

Even though some of the colors I added were interesting they competed with the birds so I narrowed to only shades of blue and green for the background. When I was done I added specks of yellow.

---

Then I decided to collage the wings. I also used colored pencils to add some texture to the birds.

---

This is where I finally arrived. First a review of some of the detours:

The Final Destination

I love the colors, patterns and textures.

And I love the movement in the piece.

Ultimately this was a collaboration between me and the artist in the video lesson. Following my own path got me to the end but the artist’s steps are what inspired the unique composition and flow of the birds.

The type of layered art process works for me because it gives me time to find my way. It’s a big part of the reason why I continue to make art rather than quitting a long time ago.

(Note: I’m still working on how to live life in the same way, learning how to trust my instincts and accept the u-turns along the way.)

---

---

In Case You Missed It

I touched on this same subject last year:

And here’s another post about leaning away from a perfectionist mindset:

---

Blessings from the Guest Nest,

Aimee

P.S.—Thanks so much for reading! You can support the writing and art I share each week by donating to my art supply fund.

---

1. Occasionally I take a break from writing about life from the perspective of a woman in midlife as well as a mother, maker, teacher and beauty seeker. Instead I share the process behind something on my art desk. I call this section of my newsletter “Creative Possibilities”.