Saturday, March 9, 2013

thinking, planning, strategizing or not.....


'Garden Chess'
Acrylic on 12" x 12" x 3/4" wrap canvas
$150.00 includes NA shipping

To purchase email me: elizabethchapman@artlover.com

or PayPal  HERE

 Etsy HERE


"I can do that"... I love the playfulness and pure creativity that can be seen in children's artwork.  This week I had a small painting "Tsuli" featured on a site under the subtitle of "I can do that".  Now I am going to be honest here, at first I felt offended that my art would be considered "childlike"....I mean really, anyone can do that?  But then, I do truly love that look and it is much harder than it appears in getting to the point of letting go, to be totally uninhibited and believing like a child.  As we grow into adulthood we are conditioned with "the rules" of what looks good and is acceptable.  Creativeness requires that we think outside that box!  For an artist to get there we must fight the critical voice within.  You know the one that says "no you can"t do it that way"..."those colors look awful together"...."what are you thinking"...etc. 

HOW TO GET THERE... Mindlessness. I have never been a chess player, but I have observed others enough to know that it takes a great deal of thought, planning, strategizing and thinking ahead to beat your opponent.  This painting was begun with a composition and a plan, but as time passed it went through many changes.  Throughout the changes there were frustration stages to deal with because it wasn't working as planned.  In working through those stages there arrives the... oh well, I don't care, whatever, it doesn't matter thoughts.  This is where there is no longer a struggle going on and comes a willingness to go beyond, to try new combinations and creativity kicks in, spilling over.  Other times it might be boredom, not being in the mood to paint, something else on my mind or listening to the music ...to list just a few.  But all in all, anything that takes us away from our adult minds helps!

More abstracts can be viewed: HERE


"Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up"           Pablo Picasso 



Elizabeth Chapman
Contemporary Abstract Artist






3 comments:

Bren Graham Thebeau said...

Great post Elizabeth, it's harder to get 'there' than it ever seems. Childlike, not such a bad thing when it comes to art. There is a simplicity to this piece that I know was difficult to achieve :-)

Is the Etsy shop new? Or am I that dense!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful painting.

As for childlike-ness...? I rushed back to painting after quite a long hiatus because I was seething with envy at how my two-year old was painting with such uninhibited joy. I wish I could paint like a child - such a struggle!

In any case, I love your work.

Elizabeth Chapman said...

Amantha, true...if only could paint without the struggle. Checked out your paintings and love them!! very beautiful...thanks for commenting.

Bren...it is amazing how simplicity can be harder to achieve than it appears...thanks for always commenting!