This small article was taken from fellow artist, Robert Genn's website - The Painter's Keys. I wrote it in response to his July 28th 2006 newsletter entitled Timed Creativity. My opinion on the subject of cameras still holds true. So here it is:
"The digital wave has helped amplify creativity. I rarely leave home without my Panasonic Lumix. For myself, the most appealing element on the camera is the burst feature. Taking numerous shots of any given inspiration opens up a plethora of inventive options. I love returning home from a day trip, uploading the memory card into the computer and finding "happy accidents" on the monitor. It's a treat to discover perfect compositions made fully by nature. A streak of light that falls perfectly between groups of trees, or clouds that are intensely lined by the radiant sun. Snapping pictures of mountains from the car can cast uncanny illusions, as if they are in motion. Even rain can make an exquisite symphony of shapes on screen. Cameras are undeniably an expansion on the artist's vision and should be used for the sake of image reference...without guilt."
Scrib·ble(skrbl) v. scrib·bled, scrib·bling, scrib·bles
1. To write hurriedly without heed to legibility or style.
2. To write or draw in a hurried careless way.
Can you make out the primitive scrawling in the above images? My eldest niece lovingly refers to my writing style as hieroglyphics. Sometimes even yours truly can barely make sense of things. Proof positive of why I'll never be a calligrapher.
But artistic inspiration usually comes from out of the blue - by way of dreams, imagery, nature etc. - you name it and I can conjure up a creative thought. So I have to act quickly, journaling as many ideas on to paper in the form of symbols (not unlike automatic writing) before they fade into oblivion. Every single concept is recorded, tossed into a huge folder and saved for future reference. Eventually these scribbled drawings become valuable tools in the early stages of composing.
Allow me to share two pieces of great advice from the book How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day, by Michael J. Gelb. "Give even the most absurd ideas their due" and "write everything down on paper. The weakest ink lasts longer than the strongest memory."
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