As a writer, language and symbolism come into my contextual ideas for visual art. I thought I would give you a peek at my visual art journal. The page I want to share is where I was exploring the word ‘unseen’. The question I asked myself was “Why are things, ideas, people and places unseen?” The answers to the question then inform tiny thumbnail sketches encapsulating each answer.

Analysis and Visualisation

I’m an analytical thinker. Many say I overthink things. I prefer to say that I try to be aware of all of the possibilities. Intellectually I know this is not possible, but I’m of the generation which considers awareness as choice. It can be done a number of ways, but which image is the best? Which image says what I want to say?

In many ways, this conflicts with my actual practice of intuitive painting. When I write creatively, I also am very intuitive. This mix of awareness and unconscious creation bemuses me, as well as other people. Somehow it works.

In the example thumbnails, above, I love the exploration of ‘tiny’ with the observation that colour has a role. It shows that my thinking can be as simple as a green dot when I come to the painting itself.

Symbolism and Interpretation

Of course, when I show my abstract paintings, I can’t expect anyone else to know what I had in my head. This is a conundrum for me. The titles of my artworks hint at what I was thinking about, but they don’t tell the whole story. I often wonder if this matters. As a student of creative writing and sociology, I know that meaning is formed in the mind of the viewer or reader. This is based on their life experience, their culture and their values.

I’m really interested to know how other artists work through these complexities. Communication in a visual form feels random to me. As an artist, I want viewers of my work to find something which speaks to them. Even if it isn’t what I see. The human brain is a fascinating thing. I think this is the place where art generates ideas and discussion. It’s the place I want to be.

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