art motivation

Anna Seller's asked what is your art motivation? Hum! I had to stop and think for a minute since I seem to be blocked at the moment and rather obsessed about that. I am working around it though :)
What motivates me:
Well it certainly isn't the money LOL! (bless gallery owners Mike and Sheryl for their support despite that wee problem). I suppose it boils down to a very basic need to create or be doing something creative all the time. I love the smell of a studio and a workshop, the act of painting, of cutting wood, the act of putting into visual form something that has moved me. What motivated this painting was very simple, I wanted to see if I could paint a mouth open and paint a tongue. Can't give you any logical reasons why his neck is twisted.

I call it "you assume wrong" because people seem to think or assume there is some motive behind it, especially because there is a flower going through the head. I don't blame them, but the truth is that the flower was put there to solve a compositional problem. I was driving along somewhere and I was distracted trying to figure out the dead space and what supported his head and all of a sudden WHAM! I had a visual of a flower. Problem solved.
so there ya go, sometimes motivation has to do with a desire to paint a tongue just because I had never done it before. LOL!

Comments

Janets Planet said…
I love it. Only you could pull that off :-)
Mark Daniels said…
Jafa:
I linked to this wonderful post: http://markdaniels.blogspot.com/2006/11/art-doesnt-have-to-be-about-anything.html.

Mark Daniels
jafabrit said…
LOL, thanks Mark, but you know it is true what you said in your post. Sometimes the meaning comes afterwards.
Louisiana said…
ahh, a bit of a peek in an artist's mind. nice. thanks..not clutter at all and very tidy, lol.

it is nice to see what makes it all be. thanks for sharing.

and yes, you draw a nice tongue i say..

(i loved Snoo's drawind..how adorable and talented was that eh? :) )
Anonymous said…
I've been asking myself that same question lately!
Anonymous said…
Love that painting!

My art motivation is something I don't question, it just is. I HAVE to make art! When I don't, I get depressed, really depressed, almost suicidal! The feeling of the brush in the paint, on the canvas, even washing brushes, is something that I love! My art has never really been ABOUT anything, with the exception of my Peace series, it just is.

Great post Jafa! Thanks!
SuzySnoo said…
I love it. And it's a great mouth! :)
It bugs me that people think art has to have a meaning. Sometimes I like things to just look nice. Or because I feel like it.

(Chana - x)
Unknown said…
I love this crazy piece, JB, though his bent neck is making me a little uncomfortable!

Recently, someone asked me about the motivation behind one of my pieces.

I said, "Hey, sometimes a sky is just a sky."

He just stared at me for a moment, then said, " Wow . . . that's deep!"

So, even my total lack of motivation was seen as relevant!

Go figure!
Anonymous said…
i HEAR you... i really do. what's amazing is when the "meaning" of an image changes over the years, and you come to see something that you originally thought just filled the space, as a purposeful icon, representing something we could only know with a few more years of living... i don't know. sometimes it's just a flower. sometimes it's our subconcious telling us something we'll eventually discover one way or another.

oh i'm just rambling because i feel at home here - love your work and writing. -jct
Mark Daniels said…
Jafa:
I changed the title of the post linking here and so, the URL changed, too: http://markdaniels.blogspot.com/2006/11/art-doesnt-always-have-to-be-about.html.

I hope that the artist's block ends soon. Maybe blogging about it will prove cathartic and help you get back at it soon.

Mark
Great painting. I had to get my husband to come in to look at it. He said, "It looks like you are unblocked." I agree.
Great mouth........ love the whole thing. You've got a winner here.
Anonymous said…
love the painting :-) my art motivation is a feeling that I get nearly everyday urging me to create something or go crazy!
Anonymous said…
Great motivational piece!

Wonderful response too. You make me smile a lot.
Lynette said…
OMG this is awesome J.B.!!!!!! Not only the tongue but everthing about this one is fantastically done, woohoo!

Popular Posts