Zoning Out With Oil Paint
I decided to go outside and meet some people. We met to paint the surroundings. I went off to a shady spot with a bunch of picnic tables and eyed an interesting composition of trees. It was an enjoyable day, but it was hot.
Translating the outside world onto a canvas is very spiritual. Forming the shapes and lines in my head, bringing out the colors I feel are shining through the subject, and making them subtly show through the assorted color gradations. It takes my mind to weird places. I lock in, ignore my surroundings, and focus entirely on the subject. I cannot hear what is around me. I am in a trance. Not even realizing that an hour has passed. It is weird, but strangely very calming. What I need after a stressful phone call and doctor visits. Working in this state, I still form a picture. The shapes are abstracted, but there is movement. The final image is still formed.
The composition I picked had three trees in front of a wooded area made of bushes and trees, but leaves made up most of the backdrop. Oil paint was definitely the medium to choose. The trees’ grey bark leaned red in hue, a stark difference to the green leaves in shadow. It was interesting to look at.
To add a bit of stress to the mix. I limit it to one or two brushes. Adds a bit of chaos. crashing into each other as they mix on the palette, the colors changing unpredictably as I paint. Keeping grounded, as I must think carefully for each brushstroke, or it will turn into mud.
In the end, I am relaxed. I completed something, and I am proud. I view it as a portal to how my brain thinks. That somehow, in my process, I feel this calmness that takes over. It feels like I am dancing. Nothing exists till I am snapped right back into reality.
