What an honor it was to talk to the Summerville Writer’s Guild about my creative process. As a visual artist, my process involves forming an idea for a painting, gathering reference materials, sketching and refining the design and painting the final image. Anything that strikes me as beautiful might become a subject for a painting—sunlight on a blossom, a row of live oak trees, the sky—the list goes on. Usually, I collect my own reference material whenever I find it. Magnolias are a favorite subject, but their blooming season tends to be very busy for me. Almost never do I get to paint the blossoms while they are on the trees! Usually I content myself with photos shot during their peak time and painting sessions in the studio using my photographs as reference.
I don’t know if a painting is worth a thousand words, but I do know that creating has some universal elements, whether your medium is the written word or paint. Ideas form, take shape and develop and, finally, emerge to stand on their own. This process is for me a spiritual exercise. Creating art gives me a way to experience my world, to think about my feelings and responses and to express my ideas.
I don’t know if a painting is worth a thousand words, but I do know that creating has some universal elements, whether your medium is the written word or paint. Ideas form, take shape and develop and, finally, emerge to stand on their own. This process is for me a spiritual exercise. Creating art gives me a way to experience my world, to think about my feelings and responses and to express my ideas.
