Mining Ideas… Where to Start?
I’ve just come back from a week’s touring in South Wales, specifically climbing Pen y Fan (almost to the top) in the Brecon Beacons, and enjoying the wild coastline around St David’s Head. Over the course of the trip, many miles were walked, many photographs were taken and multiple gigabytes of video were shot. In all honesty, there was so much to see and enjoy that reviewing the raw material much later has proved to be somewhat overwhelming.
Where to Start?
I’ve had conversations with artists and students over the years concerning this very question. And to be clear; the question can come from both sides of the fence. There are days – I’m sure everyone recognises them – when we feel completely uninspired and directionless, hoping that something – anything – will sufficiently motivate us to reach for the pencils or paints, On the other hand, there are occasions when the wealth of potential subject matter can be overbearing. Where a single idea or momentary inspiration may provide us with guidance and momentum right from the off, a cascading torrent of ideas can sometimes be like wading through creative treacle – so much so that it may have an adverse effect, and put us off starting at all; the task is just too daunting.
For this scenario, I have a cunning plan, that works well for me – and may possibly work for others…
The plan is to pick up a pencil or pen and just start drawing anyway. It doesn’t matter that there is no roadmap, or direction; what matters is the physical act of starting. If in doubt, my go-to tool of choice is a 2B pencil, since it enables me to make marks quickly and is the tool that feels most like an extension of my arm and my mind. If necessary, I need only concentrate on the tonal qualities of the subject without diving straight into the fine details and tying myself up in knots.
Line and wash is another of my favourite sketch-based approaches. Again, there doesn’t have to be a fully-formed endgame or a vision – simply pick up the pen and start drawing.
Whether the tool is a pencil or a pen, the process is exactly the same. Take the time to look at the subject and try to see it in its most basic form. In the line and wash example above, I started by drawing the outline of the hills. The left peak is Pen y Fan, the right peak is Corn Du. This information is important to me, and to the exercise as a whole, since this is where we sat and ate our sandwiches, overlooking the tarn below (Llyn Cwm Llwch) and was able to contemplate the vast mountainous panorama stretching out before us – a just reward for the energy and effort required to hike there.
In this example, a loose, light underwash of Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Red and Burnt Umber is followed by perhaps the most important element of all; a shadow on the left-hand side of the mountain and across the foreground, to establish some basic contours and the underlying three-dimensional properties of the scene. Adding colour to the sky provides something for the lighter part of the mountain to contrast against, while the same colours in the tarn provide a subtle, visual link between the two areas.
A final blast of ink ‘noodling’, exploring the contours and the suggestion of a footpath leading up to the summit, completes the sketch.
As I write this, I’m three sketches in, but even now I find the momentum has started to build, and once I start, I find I just want to keep going. I’ll happily spend several days at the easel just idly poring over the source photos that I took at the time, trying not to prioritise or to judge, but just to explore and enjoy – reliving the experiences of the trip and reminding myself why it is that I like to do this stuff at all. Eventually, a particular subject will start to nag at me, demanding further attention and greater study. Before I know it, I’ll be preparing a sheet of watercolour paper and cleaning out my palette in preparation for a more considered – proper – painting. And so the adventure begins once again.
The bottom line is; the question of ‘where to start’, when approached in this way, becomes slightly redundant. It doesn’t matter where you start – the important thing is just to start. Don’t overthink the process, just dive in and do it. Having no clear idea of where the process will take you can be surprisingly liberating; you’re embarking upon the unknown, which is exhilarating… let the process reveal itself to you in its own time. Don’t force it – don’t rush it… just enjoy it.
