The Creative Process

A Happy Easter to you all. Have your brush strokes been productive, have they been relevant to your current work? I find that like writers, I can suffer writers block, or painters pause! I wrote the following poem 'Oh' during a 'painters pause'. In the poem I have simplified the creative process.

Autumn in Tervuren Woods, Belgium.
Oil on linen

Some meanings and expressions of the word “OH.”

In painting as in writing, there is a beginning, middle and an end.

The beginning of a painting gives rise to many emotions.

Excitement, dreams, and above all the urge to create.

The ancient Egyptians believed that man was above the animals of this world, but a lessor being than the angels.

It was believed that man was given the gift of creation of beauty in all aspects.

The almighty created the world but gave man the gift to create the finishing touches. Science, mathematics, architecture, writing, music and art.

So we begin our painting, ohh where to start?

Sketch the subject, block in, ohh! That’s going well.

Apply the colour, uh ooh!, what a disaster,  a disappointment.

Plod on, dab dab fiddle fiddle, what am I doing? oooohhh….

Ohh, that’s more like it, I can see where it’s going.

Did I do that? With each stroke and attention to detail, colour and blending I have “created”….ooooohhhh.

The excitement, dreams, and the gift of creating is all ours to share.

I will be back blogging in two week with my new works, under the mentoring of Jacqueline Coates of the Barossa http://www.jacquelinecoates.com/


Bye for now,


Val x