Fear and Creativity Sketches...1 of 4

Art Association Administrator

Last Friday, which was appropriately April Fool's Day, I attended a seminar presented by St.Tammany Parish Art Association entitled, "Fear and Creativity." I rarely go to these kind of talks for fear they will discourage me even more than ever about being an artist.

Fear, the great motivator... at least for me!

I went to see how the moderator would present the subject. It was not exactly what I had hoped it would be, but still, I managed to glean some interesting concepts. One was particularly poignant to me, which said, "Don't confuse Creativity with Analysis. They are two different disciplines." I'm very analytical and less impulsive as an artist and will analyze concepts or reasons to paint, ad nauseum, to the point that, in my head, the project is completed totally in my dome with no need to continue further. Never mind that no one ever sees it... I have solved it and there's no reason to go through the hassle and head trips of turning it into a visual. I realized that, for me,"the road" is insignificant. It is the "destination" that gives me the most satisfaction and with that analysis, I have finished the project.

Much of these attitudes come from being trained as a commercial illustrator validating these tenets with each finished product. Screw the process, no one cares how you got there or what an "experience" it was... how does it look finished? It is a rather negative approach but it has worked for me for most of my career.

Anyway, I sketched this portrait and three others in the "power point light" of the seminar. I feel it is a pretty good likeness.

To hell, how I got there!