Unity
the state of being joined as a whole.
Dichotomy
a division or contrast between two things
understanding and gaining success in painting for me lies in understanding these two terms.
Not merely their definition but the role they play in the construction of our reality.
Simply speaking unity is one and Dichotomy is everything else
In these definitions it is quite easy to surmise that the English language is based on dichotomy
Unity’s definition (pulled straight from Webster) intuits that the natural state is originally separate.
For me, visually, first or second place matters very little.
In my experience they are two points encompassing the human experience
Both equally important for how I understand and interact with the world.
With regards to painting from life these two states are the difference between painting
abstract shapes
and painting
identified objects
Searching a landscape to find the items that make up the forest, the beach, the city, a face
The issue lies in identifying
the moment I identify a thing is when I stop studying it visually
Moving on
I begin to search anew.
This then begs the question:
”what am I searching for?”
The Search
Without getting too intellectual, or making this note a social commentary, I am searching for what I
desire
so that I may get closer to it
and
Searching as well
for what I
fear
So that I may avoid it
Want More?
Painting through the lens of Dichotomy
When looking at the world through the lens of dichotomy while painting or drawing I am looking at the identified objects that fill the world.
Lets say that the painting is of a sunset bathed city street
Filled with Telephone poles, street signs, trees, shapes of light and shadow, maybe a few parked cars, a squirrel, you get the idea
A scene constructed with all of the objects identified
Like blocks of stone
these objects
Carefully carved and placed correctly
Building a scene
Constructing a painting made up of separate pieces
Symbols
Painting through the lens of Unity
Setting out to paint or draw from life using unity I see a scene that is a singular object
abstract shapes of value and colour
Identified objects cease to be
A world where the lines of individualism blur
Things in this world
Become a thing
The world
the information I am searching is unfettered from my preconceived notions of the world around us.
An unbiased view
and by unbiased view I mean my bias is gone
There is no desire or fear
attraction or repulsion
to any of the objects
because there are no objects
only a scene made up of shapes and colours.
think of what it means to paint En Plein Air
A purist will only touch the canvas if outside on location.
If the canvas is worked upon anywere else it ceaseses to be a plein air
painting
en plein air = outside
what are the boundaries that you set yourself when painting (or if you were to start ) painting en plein air/outside?
At the root:
How do you define outside verses inside?
Walls?
A roof?
feeling the breeze?
Does the body not house a consciousness, spirit, or soul?
the only walls that truly house me are constructed of
flesh and blood
And this is where I have found myself
painting en plein air
Outside identifying as the body,
Separate from the world, or outside of it
No longer is it a sense of self that sees feels and perpetuates a separation with what I am painting.
when plein air painting I am after the foudational element that holds the scene together
I am that foundational element
The I that has no end
No beginning
how can a painting be truly en plein air if I am trapped within the walls of my own individualism
My ego
As it sits amidst
A Universe
And
the creation of me
A human being
@
panel with paint
Within the confines of my
known world
Is the universe experiencing itself.
Behind the pochade box
Looking out into the horizon
Akin to
Earlier this morning