Imagine being in a room with 100 others, siting down at a table with a canvas, two a acrylic paint colours on a plate, and an odd paint brush in front of you. You are passed a blindfold and you all put one on. The organizer says begin. You feel for the brush, the canvas and have 3 minutes to paint.
3 minutes - two colours - blindfolded.
Time slows down. Self vanishes. Action and Awareness merge. Welcome to Flow. - Steven Kotler
I am a watercolour painter. I chose this because I have to take my time, relax, allow the paint time to respond to my touch and allow me time to recognize the movement and be inspired by the flow of paint and water on paper.
Timing is everything. Not rushing to move the paint with a brush and disturb the organic flow of fresh laid paint. Knowing when to continue to get the desired effect. Allowing a layer to fully dry and set before placing a second layer of paint. This is where patience is needed.
Not much is accomplished in three minutes. But blindfolded - time seems to slow. And this wasn't so much about creating a masterpiece but an experience. A world record actually, about group participation. And each mess of colour we created (yes mine truely was a mess) was part of a mosaic, actions done together to be the background layer for something beautiful.
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. - Confucius
Yah.. no. But there was beauty created - some amazing abstract art in those three minutes.
Two Hours - Ten Colours - One Image
The last two years I have spent my Saturdays enjoying the company of fellow art explorers. Sometimes leading, encouraging and always being encouraged and inspired. We spend a few hours together, I may start a painting or finish one but never fully complete anything in that time. I was not sure it was even possible to finish a watercolour painting in that short a time - when time seems to be so key to the process.
Paint nights are similar - fellow art explorers, but also different - one image everyone strives to paint their version of, and one leader. This year I get the privilege of being that leader, taking a step out of my comfort zone, to guide others into my vision of watercolour. Not all art can be rushed, but art is not always about the end product. Sometimes, just like the blindfolded painting event, it's about the experience. And so with an open heart I head into something new for me - a teacher.
“Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Three paintings, inspired by other's work, that I have made my own and hope others can follow and create, with a few colours and a few hours, into their own art.
And the joy of this adventure is it takes me back to my startings - the flow of paint, the blend of colours, beauty in simple shape and form. I have one of my first paintings - just a small 6X9 image framed in my room. I love it and cannot replicate it, sometimes time allows me to overwork, overthink a piece of work. Time is of the essence - sometimes the key element to learn is when to stop. Times up.
Nice! Never you you were part of a bilindfolded painting group for the Guiness Book of Records. Interesting experience?