Painting With No Meaning
Blue Roses
“What does it mean?” That is probably one of the top ten questions people ask when they look at a painting. Certainly not all paintings must have ‘a meaning’. Some paintings are to be felt, others are interpretations of nature, and others are just a way for the artist to deliver a technique for personal amusement and practice. Painting with no meaning is very satisfying indeed. All you want to do is to enjoy the process. If someone else finds meaning to it and likes it is a plus.
In my last studio days of 2014 I did just that: painting to explore a technique and have fun. I am a sculptor and prefer sculpting much more than painting. However, I enjoy painting from time to time. I approach painting the way I approach sculpting. I begin with the pose. I work on basic shapes and then work smaller areas until I ‘build’ the figure. I am not looking for meaning or some intellectual and spiritual awakening. I just study the figure. I try to understand the intricacies of the muscles and their reaction to movement. It is delightful to observe how muscles expand, stretch, and contract. You can feel it in your own body.
The process begins by tracing that pose I want to explore. I trace just the lines with paint. I love lines. I apply some shading as a guide. ‘Filling’ the figure with color helps provides a foundation on which I will shade and form the muscles. For me is very important to follow the fiber of the muscle with my brushstrokes. It provides a sense of volume. It also helps to accurately shape the anatomy. Before I work on the details of the anatomy I try to surround the figure with color as in providing a setting (which is generally empty space for me but it provides visual sense). The surrounding colors also help me decide the colors for shading the figure.
Detailing the muscles is very challenging but so much fun. I work one small area at a time and connect the muscles until the figure is complete. Hair comes after. To add a little something to the composition I added flowers this time. I was going in different directions with the flowers once I added the blue roses (which were originally purple) close to the head. First, and that was the original idea, I wanted to create a ‘u’ shaped frame of flowers and vines on the bottom half of the canvas. It was too much for me. The next idea was to just add a few flowers closing the figure at the bottom. I was not feeling it either, so I left it like that with just three blue roses. The rest is about cleaning up the details. After about 12 hours I was very satisfied with the result.
It is very possible that half of the people who see my work ask this question: How long does it take to finish something like this? I take it as an honest question. We humans are trapped inside the clock. Even when traveling to another place we don’t ask how far it is waiting for a response in miles or kilometers. We want to know how far it is in time measures: “How long does it take to get there?” We create deadlines in an attempt to beat time. The workplace establishes a shift based on hours. In many of these places it is of little importance quality and production than the time spent there. We are measuring nanoseconds to switch from one screen to another with a touch of a finger and we panic if takes “too long”. Even sharing a cup of coffee with someone is based on how much time they have for us at that moment. It seems that control is leaving us out of control and ripping away some of our humanity.
The measure of time in art is not about how long it takes to make, but how long it took the artist to master the technique to make it happen. It is about how long it took to study and understand how to turn the idea into life. Time for the artist is about thinking how to pour the self on that piece. I can finish a painting in an hour or two, but it took a long time to get to that point. Even so with sculpting. I can finish a sculpture in a day but it took many years of practice, effort and sacrifice to reach a comfort level of my technique. However, the joy of creating and the bliss of the moment should not be shortened or retrained by time. The feeling is too good to rush.
Making Art Fun
Humans are naturally inclined to art. Some people are more sensitive to art than others but we are all attracted to it somehow. For some people art is an escape from their norm. It is not about pursuing an art career or a long-term learning experience, not even a hobby. They just want to have fun, a good time, something to break away from the routine for a few hours. Sculpting and painting parties are making art fun for people. There are no formalities or expectations. It is all about having a good time.
“The wine and art event with Dr. Ivan was very fun. It was a great way to relax after a work day, and I found myself lost in my sculpture, not thinking about or worrying about anything at all. A great release. This would be a great thing to do for a birthday party, or special event…learning a new skill, sipping wine, and becoming immersed in art and sculpture with friends. Dr. Ivan did a great job of teaching, but also allowing everyone’s own personality and design to be present.”
– Megan Micola
“Recently, I had the pleasure of attending Dr. Ivan Tirado’s Sculpture Class. I came to the lesson with some friends of varying artistic abilities. We were all able to find our creative voice and enjoy the class regardless of our creative backgrounds. Many know Dr. Tirado is a gifted sculptor, but he is a masterful teacher as well. We learned about the proportions of the human form and how to use these new tools and techniques to explore them. No one felt the least bit intimidated on this adventure together with Dr. Ivan guiding the way! We all enjoyed this class and learned something new and are planning to set up another class soon.”
– Michele Kelly
People just need to relax and have a drink while creating their own masterpiece. I personally guide people step by step and try to make it entertaining. It is great to see how they impressed themselves with what they accomplish during just a few hours. They take home their piece and brag about it to their friends. This is something that can be done for birthdays, bachelorette parties, girls night out,
employee appreciation and other company events, networking, or just to do something different with your friends.
“I would like to take a moment to thank you for helping us pull off a surprise “sculpting” birthday party. We all had a blast and had something to show for the fun time we had. I must say, I truly thought my lump of clay had no hope! Ha ha Luckily, you know how to teach and guide a class of giddy mimosa drinking gals! We all left surprised at how well our “torso” turned out. Thank you so much!! Can’t wait to do it again!!!”
– Stephanie Pelizzari
You can read more testimonies and request more information here.
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