Planning vs. Process
As you plan your next art work, you may find yourself vexed by questions about the extent to which one should plan. And that key word “should” is a flag to be noted, as I’d like to first direct your attention to the fact that we all have unique ways of tapping into our clearest creative inspiration and aptitude. Therefore, your unique planning needs may look totally different than mine, all for reasons that have more to do with our differing objectives than our skill achievement.
Let’s break this down into 3 phases of creativity for a simpler look at what’s happening when we first choose to make a visual piece of art:
First, the origin: something you’ve seen, heard, thought or felt has persuaded you to make art. And that could range from a simple urge to try a particular medium to test how you’d “take to it”, to your having a desire to paint a specific photograph that holds meaning to you. In either case, just the “name it and claim it” strategy works best for me and many of my students, whereas the artist asks the question (and waits for an answer) “why am I proceeding with this?” in order to channel their energy accordingly. For example, if you consciously are making art in that moment to learn more about a material & to grow your skills, simply “claiming” that as your approach will help drive all of your choices about proceeding, such as painting along with a demonstration, taking classes and practicing your craft. For the person making art to express a specific visual quality of its subject, this is where preliminary planning is tremendously helpful by reminding you of the depth and breadth of your toolbox (in art elements, principles, & composition terms). Choosing the tools that enable, support or enhance your vision then becomes your process.
Second, the degree to which you are emotionally engaged is where the “magic” happens, as the intensity of energy becomes hyper focused. For anyone who has spent at least some time making art, this creative encounter happens quickly if we allow ourselves to freely experiment during the planning stages of an artwork. An example of this would be to try different color schemes, composition designs, or even various mediums on small, quick preliminary sketches. Then that stage of your planning becomes a process, meaning that you are intentional about the act of art making while also being open & conscious of what the process is revealing to you. Awareness of what is happening and then responding to it is, again, where the “magic” happens.
And third, simultaneous balance is our keyword for avoiding over-planning & under-achieving. Planning & process aren’t happening separate from one another; this is the main misconception about art making. So, for example, even after making and choosing preliminary sketches, DO keep in mind that these are still a guide, rather than a concrete blueprint of your actual painting. Once you begin your painting while referencing your preliminaries, satisfying art making often requires ongoing self-discipline to keep responding to what is happening on your canvas. Art is responding in the moment, it is effort, and it is commitment to letting the process guide you as much as you guide the process.
It is also a gift that lies dormant until we call upon it; a treasure that is waiting to be discovered, mined, valued and shared.