A Painter's Musings on the Visual World

“Bend the rules only if you have learned them; break the rules only if you have mastered them.” - Matshona Dhliwayo

After I completed my driver’s ed course in high school, my Dad informed me that I still had to complete his training course. Having just spent a lot of time in class with little practical experience, I thought I knew the rules of the road. But as good fathers do, my Dad taught me that memorization did not equal being prepared for the unexpected. It was only time behind the wheel that made reactions second nature. 

Like learning to drive, painting has rules to follow. Unlike driving, we don’t always have to follow them. Bending or breaking them does not always get you in trouble.  But just as in Dhliwayo’s quote, it helps to learn the rules first.

John Stobart "Camden" Oil on Linen

Don’t speed. There are times when speed is helpful especially when working from life. Getting a figure gesture needs a fast sketch or fleeting light requires quick color notes. But when those notes are taken to the studio, that’s where the time to make slower and more careful decisions comes in. Marine artist John Stobart is fully committed to every studio painting. Even if your style is looser and more impressionistic, it can still be done deliberately. 

Jane Chapin "Harbor Sunrise" 18 x 24" Oil on Linen

Stay in your lane. We’ve all ridden with one of those impatient drivers that changes from lane to lane trying to get ahead in traffic. It’s a stressful experience. The practice makes dangerous drivers but interesting painters. I enjoy seeing departures from painters who drift away from their usual path and dare to push their own boundaries. Staying in your lane may make for a cohesive body of work but it also has a down side of becoming predictable and stale. We want predictable drivers on the road but veering off in a different painting direction can be stimulating to your work.

Jane Chapin Block-in for "Fearless"11 x 14 Oil on linen panel

Obey the signs. We get stops and caution signs along the road warning us of hazards and dangerous turns. Sometimes we need those in painting but they are far less clear and we have to look for them. Too much time overworking one area, breaking down large shapes, distracted by too many details: It’s too bad there are not flashing lights for those. Sometimes we completely miss an exit sign and find ourselves lost. It’s the main reason I photograph my process in case I have to find my way back.

 Jane Chapin "Hemp Barn" 8 x 10 Oil on linen panel (plein air)

Don’t drive impaired. Fatigue of eyes and body, changing light, battling the elements when you are outdoors, and self-doubt are some of the most common impairments. We are human and our bodies can only do so much. Painting till you drop may work well when you are 20 but it doesn’t last forever. Our eye muscles stop reacting as quickly and start sending false information. The sunlight dips behind a cloud and changes the color relationships or gradually moves 40 degrees and we press on. We try to execute a finished painting while simultaneously holding our easel against the wind. Doubt about the outcome creeps in and gets in our head, interrupting our brushstrokes and making us timid. Time to pull off the road and take a rest.

Blow your horn sparingly. The rules of the road tell us that by blowing your horn for every little thing, you lessen its effect to get attention for something really important. Sharing your success at getting in a show, selling a painting or winning an award is great.  Telling us how much you made last year or your six-figure income might be a bit much. Whatever success we have, we can just as quickly lose when the winds of fortune change. You can only be the best thing since sliced bread for so long. As they say in the theater, “Be nice to those you meet on the way up. They’re the same folks you’ll meet on the way down.” 

Matshona Dhliwayois a Zimbabwe born philosopher, author and publisher who now resides in Canada. He donates 50% of his book sales to orphanages in Zimbabwe.