Art as Magic
An artist is a magician. After a wave of a brush and a swish of some colored water, she shows you a flat piece of paper and convinces you that you're looking at something else.It's all illusion.
Art is the mastery of illusion.
'We all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.'
I like that phrase, '...makes us realize the truth'. In English, 'realize' means both to 'come to understand' and 'to make real'.
Artists are trying to 'make real' that thing on the paper.
On a great day, my lie convinces you that the light is streaming in from the top right.
On another day I create the illusion of a hundred acres of wildflowers.
What exactly is the magic? How can some people create such great illusions?
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©Robin Edmundson, 'Zinnias #4', watercolor, 14 x 10 inches. Framed to 20 x 16 inches. $375 |
On that piece of paper, there's no object. No table, no flowers, no light, no leaves. Just colored water that stained the page and then dried.
Space
On another day I create the illusion of a hundred acres of wildflowers.
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| © Robin Edmundson, 'Misty Bottomlands', watercolor, 18 x 24 inches. Framed to 24 x 32 inches. $750. |
Feel the sunshine and the dew? Can you see that mist way back there? It's maybe half a mile walk to get back there to that misty place where the little creek empties into the big one.
And yet this is just a flat piece of paper. It's not a window to step through.
There's no creek, no clouds, no dew, no ironweed and helianthus blooming.
And yet.
There it is. A hundred acres of wildflowers. Somehow. Fit on a piece of paper that's 18 x 24 inches.
Story
On another day I stand at the easel and tell a story.
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| © Robin Edmundson, 'The mailman always brings treats', watercolor, 18 x 24 inches. SOLD. Prints available. |
This is nothing more than a piece of paper with a few colors judiciously applied here and there. No words at all. Just an illusion.
And yet.
It tells a story that has touched many people, sparked delighted laughter and dozens of conversations.
Not everything is an illusion
Those feelings, laughter and conversations are not illusions. They are real. They are evidence that the artist was successful in pulling off the illusion.
They are the evidence of the magic that is art.
A skilled artist magician can carve out space on a flat piece of paper. Make something from nothing.
The most skilled artist magicians are the ones who can create the illusion with the least work possible. The harder we work to push the illusion, the easier it is to spot the trick.
Artists are acutely aware that their work is that of illusion. We see every flaw, every alternate interpretation. And, there are critics everywhere just waiting to expose the tricks and spoil the illusion for everyone else.
[Don't be that person. Don't tell an artist that you see something unintended in the piece. It's really rude. And never point it out to someone else. Once pointed out, some people can't un-see it and all conversation becomes about that one alternative viewpoint rather than the rest of piece.]
I'd much rather have you start a conversation with me about the farm like the one in the piece we're looking at that your Aunt took you to every summer than I would about why you think that tree should not be in the picture [and believe me, I've had people start both conversations.]
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© Robin Edmundson, 'Barn in the Woods', watercolor, 18 x 24 inches. Framed to 24 x 32 inches. $750 |
How do they do that?
Most people assume the most important thing an artist needs is natural talent. They assume that artists are the people, who, as children, sat down and drew realistically from a young age.
That's not true.
The most important thing an artist needs is the discipline to practice, to learn, to try new things.
She needs enough 'failure tolerance' to keep going when things aren't going well.
She needs excellent critical thinking skills. She needs to be able to look at the tricks she's used to see what illusion was produced and how it can be tweaked to produce the illusion she's after. This can mean getting other eyes on a piece to find out how the illusion is coming across to other people.
This does not mean looking to others for approval. An artist needs to tune into herself to know when she has said all she needs to say in that piece. [One look at the history of Impressionism will convince you of the value of that skill.]
Hone those skills and put in the brush miles and the magic is yours.
No Small Pressure
For the vast majority of artists that I know, perfecting the illusion of making something from nothing is no small pressure.
Their task is to craft an illusion such that it will make real and draw one into a truth. Every time an artist stands at the easel, she wonders if she's got the magic today. Some days yes. Some days no.
I know some great artists who have been painting their entire lives. They have painted masterpiece after masterpiece and they still have days when they can't make the illusion happen.
After a few days of no magic, the task becomes about having the courage to continue to stand at the easel and try.
These artists are great because they continue to show up, making that bouquet of flowers appear out of thin air onto the page. Waving their brush and sprinkling colored water on the page until a vista appears. Telling stories with nothing but stains on a piece of paper.
The Best Magic
I know other artists who may never master artistic illusion on the page, but they are so in love with the process that they show up day after day, putting brush to paper, mastering the magic of a joy-filled life.
Now, that's some powerful magic - and every bit as wonderful as creating the illusion of something on a page.
