{"id":4603,"date":"2016-04-27T22:23:20","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T05:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howtopastel.com\/?p=4603"},"modified":"2021-12-02T15:57:21","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T23:57:21","slug":"the-importance-of-play-in-art-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howtopastel.com\/2016\/04\/the-importance-of-play-in-art-making\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance Of Play In Art-Making"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I’m thinking about the importance of play in art.<\/p>\n

I feel pulled in so many different ways on a daily basis. There’s so much to get done – finishing my new course, writing and organizing blog posts, updating my websites (hah!), nevermind painting. And oh yeah, what about fun time, downtime, a balanced life?!<\/p>\n

I’m reading a fascinating book called Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less<\/em> which is all about doing more of the right<\/em> things. This morning, I skipped to the chapter on ‘Play’. Author Greg McKeown defines ‘play’ as, “anything we do simply for the joy of doing rather than a means to an end.”<\/p>\n

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This brought me to the idea of play in art. I really try to play when I’m in the studio. But most times, I find playing the way McKeown defines it, really difficult to do! I always feel I need to be creating for a reason namely, a successful or not so successful piece. (Okay, let’s be truthful here – I really mean a piece that’s successful everytime!) It’s hard not to worry about messing up and yet as I always tell my student, failure is a good thing!! You grow by learning from things that just don’t work out.<\/p>\n

I have that four-letter word up in my studio (given to me by my friend Louise). It’s supposed to remind me to take time to play for heavens sake!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Or should I say:<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Okay, that’s more like it.<\/p>\n

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I haven’t pastelled for what seems like ages, certainly not since making my\u00a0 last YouTube video<\/a> and that almost doesn’t count. I’m working diligently on my next online course and that’s taken me away from studio time. So today, inspired by McKeown’s chapter on Play, I went into the studio for some playtime – to have fun with colour and the feel of pastel on paper. And I decided to photograph the process so I could show you the outcome. (Of course it was hard NOT to think that there would be an outcome considering I was going to write a blog on the process but I just kept saying, Play Gail, Play!)<\/p>\n

So let me take you through my play today.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/a>
1. The beginning. During my morning meditation (yup, trying it out), I saw an image of a lime green stripe surrounded by deep blue so that’s where I started. I’m working on Wallis Belgian Mist paper mounted on foam core, 12 x 18 in, and I’m using Mount Vision pastels selected from the Workshop set.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"The<\/a>
2. I decided to add a light colour along the right edge just because it sort of goes against what I might normally do. I tried out a number of small swatches of colours, trying to decide which ones to use. I also broke into the green shape.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"The<\/a>
3. I decided to turn the whole thing upside down and work on the piece in that position. Among other things (like adding more blue pastels), I introduced scribbly lines of a reddish brown. I also inserted a yummy red to see what would happen!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"The<\/a>
4. I added horizontal lines across the green stripe. I really felt I need to break into it. I also layered and scrumbled the lower left corner. Notice how I added a scattering of the lime green into the blue on the left.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"The<\/a>
5. I worked all over the piece. I further obliterated the green stripe, layered more colour and strokes into the bottom left corner, and generally had fun mark-making. (I’m plaaayyyying!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"The<\/a>
6. I turned the image back to its starting position and continued to work on it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"The<\/a>
7. I decided I like the painting in the second orientation so back it went upside down. I kept working on it. This is as far as I got. I quite like it as is but I need to give it some time. Then I’ll come back and see what it needs. I’ll let you know if and when I change it. Working on this pastel really helps me embrace the importance of play!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Here are a couple close-ups:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Close-up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"The<\/a>
Another close-up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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And the pastels I used:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The pastels I used (after being cleaned up!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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This was tremendous fun. I got wrapped up in the colour, the mark-making, and trying to make the piece speak. I also began to think about how the viewer’s eye moved through the piece and how to make that flow more easily.\u00a0 I think play is a lot about letting go, of following intuition and desire.<\/p>\n

Do you play when you paint? Or are you always thinking of the outcome? What do you think of the importance of play in terms of art-making? I’d love to hear your thoughts around play.<\/p>\n

Thanks for joining me on this playful journey \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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Until next time,<\/p>\n

~ Gail<\/p>\n

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PS. Click here<\/a> a great little video of Greg McKeown talking about Essentialism.<\/p>\n

PPS. Here’s the book I was telling you about that has a chapter on the importance of play in our lives:<\/p>\n

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