In the ensuing years of Ministry and wider society a friend once asked me: (Phillip what inspires you to paint)
My response were the words of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso “The artist is a receptacle for the emotions that come from all over the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.”
I am inspired by Nature – raindrop on a rose, a beautiful sunset, a wild horse in the desert, a newborn baby. I am also inspired by other creative people, a great movie, going to the theatre, the music of great classical composers. Songs and stories. Dancers swirling with gay abandon.
What inspires me- I am drawn to the good and beautiful things of life, expressed in song by Louis Armstrong, “What a wonderful world”, I see trees so green, red roses too, I see them bloom or me and you and I think to myself what a wonderful world.
(Song: What a wonderful world – Louis Armstrong)
What inspires me: If I am honest, it is not always the beautiful and pleasant things that inspire. There are many things in this world that are not wonderful.
- The horrors of war and violence, the perils of poverty and disease.
- The groans of the earth and the environment.
- The realities of Famine, Poverty and disease.
- The presence of Cultural and Racial Discrimination.
- Gender Based Violence
- Widespread Mental Illness leading to Depression and suicide.
An important question is this-what sort of inspiration is derived from this litany of Life’s problems. For those who look and listen carefully (like artists of all description). Those who are sensitive to the hidden nuances within dark moments- will see rainbows.
I think for instance od Osker Schindler a German Industrialist surrounded and overwhelmed by the Nazi’s persecution of Jews in Krakow. What inspired him to act against the growing forces of hate? In the Movie,” Schindler’s List” produced by Steven Spielberg, we see Liam Neeson who plays Schindler, looking down from a hill in Krakow to the violence below. His experience moved from detached curiosity to quiet horror as his gaze lingers on a young girl in a red coat. (A rare colour in an otherwise black and white movie) This moment marks a turning point for Schindler. The girl in the red coat becomes a symbol of his moral awakening. A moment that enables him to recue over 1200 Jews by employing them in his factory. Thus, saving them from the gas chambers of the Holocaust.
Frederich Nietzsche gives clarity to the power of a rainbow or a red coat when he says, “You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star!”
I remember as a child being fascinated when looking into a kaleidoscope. Feelings of wonder and excitement welled up within me when confronted by the changing patterns and bright colours. The kaleidoscope is like life and world around us- that there is beauty in unexpected places. A reminder that beauty can be found in random patterns, fleeting experiences and lived moments. Something Pablo Picasso no doubt understood when he said: “The artist is a receptacle of emotions that come from all over – the sky, the earth, from a scrap of paper, a spiders web.”
It is true that life gifts us with Images, symbols, shapes and stories and for those who truly notice and take time to reflect on what they see, there is something more.
The Birth of an Idea! The test of having an idea is to work hard at giving it shape. This is true of all creatives, artists, musicians, dancers, sculptures Etc.
Song: My African Dream – Vicky Sampson.
The Hidden comes to the surface:
The Psychologist Carl Jung emphasized the importance of listening to our dreams. Like the gold and other precious metals buried in the depths of the earth, there is value that exists under the surface of the human psyche. I am reminded of something Van Gogh said:
“I dream of painting, and I paint my dreams”
Many speak of sculptors, and I think of Michaelangelo as an example that they say the image is hidden in the slab of marble and there work as a sculptor is to release it, free it and bring it to the surface. Whether the idea comes from an artist’s imagination, from the depths of sleep or out of awakened moments of a daydream, I have learned to trust what has been given and revealed from under the surface shadows. I have learned to explore and work with the mysteries of the unknown. Call it a prompting or a signpost pointing the way forward – I have discovered a process of embracing what is within me, giving it a name and like a strike of lightning let the idea take form and shape. A rough sketch, research, time to ponder and ruminate, then to stand before an empty canvas; and finally using brush and paint on canvas allow the idea to take shape. This process and act of an artist unlocks what was hidden and sets it free.
Song: Leonard Cohen – Ring the Bells
