Author: Walter

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Everyone is an artist – Joseph Beuys

I am thinking about art a lot. My art & where it is going. Some key words that stick: iconic – see the Buildings category for example. I want more of the iconic stuff. I need the Christchurch Cathederal. And people, I like to do portraits of people I am reading about or watching on video. Hand is another word, and Line. I like to see my hand in the lines, & I like strong lines, I try to return to more painterly stuff but keep adding lines.

Iconis is one of a list of words I have all pointing in the same direction, Kahn might say Monumental, Jung, archetypal, Moreno psychodramatic. In fact Moreno described the Psychodrama method as: “Exploring truth by dramatic means.” Here I explore truth by the means of lines by my hand. I don’t care if that sounds grandiose! I make no claims though for how successful I am, or that I am there.

Here is another I have just done, I have done about six, not sure which one to post:

#469 Joseph Beuys
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This one best caught a look in his face that speaks to me.

I like the boldness & the social engagement. He had wacky ideas, everything is creative, everything is art. There is some truth in that, everything arises from a mysterious source. He seems to consciously make himself the work of art, by creating a persona. Now that is something I quite like, but it is not me. No pseudonyms, no new roles. I am tempted sometimes… I wonder if I could create an artist and do the art from that new role. But no, I just am who I am & that is OK. There are a couple of pictures here by Prince Charles though.

He was in the Fluxus movement as was Yoko Ono. I listened to her son Sean on a podcast the other day, and he spoke of how he was inspired by his mother – you don’t need to be an expert to do art, you can just go for it. He made a movie of his separation with his girlfriend, with her in it! I can see the links!

Wikipedia

Joseph Beuys Online Guide

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Bunker 1

#467 Bunker 1
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Kate & I have been on some great walks in the Port Hills of Christchurch lately. Above Lyttelton are some old concrete structures, I’ll call them bunkers. The were part of the defences against the Japanese who almost invaded New Zealand in WWII. They are quite beautiful sitting there on the hillside. The remind me of Lois Khan buildings (though I have only seen pix) – and I want to draw more of these buildings with minimalist strong lines. Basic stuff. One Khan image done a while back – Salk Interior.

The sketches are from the photos I took, and here are some more pix, to contextualise the sketches.

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Trade Me

I have just put a few on Trade me again.

Have a look.

Those images will only be available from Trade Me for a while. I’ll add more soon.

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Pat Hanly 1932 – 2004

#466 Pat Hanly
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I went to the “Art of the Nation” at Te Papa and I had a good time. Loved the Hoteres, the Woollastons, one or two of the McCahons and Rembrandt’s etchings. God knows why these, they were ones that gripped me. The item on the cover of the booklet is a painting by Pat Hanly.

I was already in the middle of this sketch, as Hanly was in the Hotere video, they were mates it seems. He is one of the big names in New Zealand.

Links, images follow.

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Expect Nothing

#465 Expect Nothing
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11″ x 8.5″ image on 13″ x 19″ archival mat paper.

A vigorous time with digital lead pencil.

Later

In the comments below Jan asked how it might look in negative. Here it is – with a little sepia thrown in. Better if you ask me. Thanks Jan.

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Interview with Eric Maisel

If you have read my recent posts you will know quite a bit about Eric Maisel, creativity coach and author, he is here now on Thousand Sketches on a tour to promote Ten Zen Seconds, one of his current books, yes he has three that came out this year.

The focus is on the tension between shadow & light, so if that is of interest, read on, and please join the conversation in the comments.

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Walter: Hi Eric, thanks for visiting my blog on your world tour. How are your travels so far?

Eric:
Excellent! It has been interesting to see how each host has personalized the process. And the tour has helped to sell out the first edition of the book in its first month, which is unusual … and great!

Walter:
That is inspiring! A blog tour is a creative project, how did the idea originate?

Eric:
I put out a monthly newsletter and I asked my readers if they knew of any out-of-the-box ways to publicize books. One reader, a small press publisher, told me about the successful virtual book tour that one of her authors had recently completed, the idea intrigued me, I asked for details, and decided that I wanted to do the same.

Walter:
So the creative step is to connect with your readers. I hope you enjoy your virtual stop here with the Thousand Sketches project and being here (again) in Christchurch, New Zealand. As a psychotherapist also have a psychological blog but I think this is the right place for you to visit as you have such a focus on creativity, and the artist.

Eric:
Yes, much of the writing on creativity isn’t very psychologically astute. It tends to be more like cheerleading or spirituality-by-a-different-name. I’ve been interested in looking at the real processes that affect creators, like depression, anxiety, addictions, and so on, along with what really helps to deepen the creative process.

Walter:
What is Ten Zen Seconds all about?

Eric:
It’s actually a very simple but powerful technique for reducing your stress, getting yourself centered, and reminding yourself about how you want to live your life. It can even serve as a complete cognitive, emotional, and existential self-help program built on the single idea of “dropping a useful thought into a deep breath”.

You use a deep breath, five seconds on the inhale and five seconds on the exhale, as a container for important thoughts that aim you in the right direction in life—I describe twelve of these thoughts in the book—and you begin to employ this breathing-and-thinking technique that I call incanting as the primary way to keep yourself on track.

Walter:
Where did this idea come from?

Continue reading “Interview with Eric Maisel”

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