If you haven’t seen yet, I launched a new initiative here called the Open Notebook. It is designed to be a space where people can write, anonymous or otherwise, and discuss art, faith, meaning, the creative process, life, etc. I decided to do this for a couple of reasons:
to push some creative bounds and challenge myself this year (whether people write in or not is totally out of my control, which is uncomfortable, and the types of questions or engagement I get is out of my hands too). This will be a new process that involves not just my usual solo work but opening myself wider to engage with other people. It feels a bit riskier than doing a drawing I have total control over.
To write more. I have been writing more poetry and using writing to express my ideas recently. I think this initiative will be fun, different and allow for more space to write.
To open a space for other people to express themselves in a non-judgemental space, off social media, where they can find a sense of connection too.
Without further ado, here are the first submissions and my responses:
#1: Seeing personalities as colours"
“Seen a post you did once, where you said you see colours as numbers ( i think it was numbers) and how musicians can see music as rhythm and colours...
This peaked my interest, because i see people, personalities and emotions as colours (auras if you will). As i got older and understood it better, It has changed the way i see the world, the way i see and interact with people.
I can only put it down to a gift of discernment, but it shows to me through colours.
Certain colours to me associate with " Good person/ Bad person/ Honesty/ dishonesty / Kindness/ Strength / Love and strong emotions type of vibes.
Just a small encounter with someone will give them a “colour” or even “colours". Its kind of personality traits or in-time emotional responses. I feel like i walk around in a world of iridescent people. I'd be really interested to see how you would draw/paint that. Might make for some cool artwork. My creative process is through physical objects arranging, grouping, colour matching. Almost OCD like, in a world full of colourful people (in my eyes) grouping and keeping colours, shapes and objects together and similar create a sense of calm in my mind. Weird, huh!”
-Anonymous
Hi, Anonymous.
You were the very first person to write in and it made my whole day to read your thoughts. I have been pondering them since.
Yes, I have written and talked about synesthesia, a sensory condition you can read more about here. For me, it’s primarily that I see days of the week, numbers, letters and months all very visually with set colours that don’t change over time (Tuesday, September, and the number 8 are all yellow and I will not accept otherwise, lol).
Your experience is really fascinating to me. There was one line you wrote that jumped right out at me straight away, which was this:
“I feel like i walk around in a world of iridescent people.”
What a beautiful phrase, and concept. I haven’t got set ideas myself about seeing what you’re describing as ‘auras’, and I have never experienced that, but I love that you mentioned this might be like a real-time emotional response to people, only instead of feeling it, you have almost an extra-sensory visual experience of it too.
I wonder, if you read this and wanted to write back in response about the following:
-Can you give me an example of the sorts of colours you would associate with kindness, or truth, or a loving presence? (may or may not be for drawing idea purposes). Are there shapes or anything defined, or more a foggy undefined vibe?
-Does it get tiring to perceive people in such a multi-dimensional kind of way? Or it is kind of exciting to walk around the world like that?
-Do your first impressions/ first sense of someone’s ‘colour’ ever turn out to be incorrect, or is it almost like intuition where you trust it every time?
-Can you perceive colour for yourself? What is it?
Thanks so much for being the very first engager of this project, and for sharing your experiences.
#2: Abstraction Vs. Realism
“Hi Alana. Lani. I love the bright colours in your work and the idealised forms. This sort of work brings me joy. That is why I like naive art. I discovered abstracting forms gave me the opportunity to bring meaning into my art without the stress of trying for perfect realism. Do you find that too?”
-Lyndell
Hi Lyndell,
Thanks for appreciating the vividness of the colours, I use pencils that I press into oblivion on the page to achieve that brightness.
I really admire realists and find that I would make an absolutely hopeless one. I found in previous attempts that the time spent gridding up a page, working from a photo, and focussing on the tiny details and accuracy completely took the joy of spontaneous creativity out of the picture. It felt too mathematical for me. I think maybe some art borders more on maths, on precision, and has much less to do with that completely reckless joyful creative process. Maybe that is a cynical take coming from someone who doesn’t have the patience for it. So, my rationale has become ‘if I can’t draw a lifelike eye, why not draw one tiny and one HUGE just to play with scale and hoodwink everyone into thinking that was always the plan’
So far, I think this approach has worked well.
As for meaning, I am more interested in representing complex, esoteric or curious ideas in symbolic ways than trying to perfect a still-life of fruit. It sounds like you’ve found freedom in the more abstract approach too, and I hope you keep finding time to have space for the joy of abstraction.