I majored in art in college and have been very involved in art all
my life. As a child and teenager, I wrote poems and stories, but my grandmother
was a talented oil painter and my mom was the best paper doll maker ever, so it
was natural for me to move more fully into creative art and do less writing. Over
the years as the pendulum has swung, I have done more writing and spent less
time painting, but the truth is they are actually very similar activities.
To begin an oil painting the artist assembles the stretcher bars,
staples the canvas to the bars, and prepares the canvas with primer. She
then gathers the objects to be painted. The assembly and setup for a painting are
very much like researching a story idea and setting up your files and data in the
software you use for writing. With the sticks of vine charcoal the artist
lightly sketches the basic painting structure onto the canvas. This is much
like the planning or outlining of the plot. With the right brushes and paints
at hand, the artist builds the painting. She begins with translucent washes, then
gradually builds in color, shape and shadow layer by layer, until finally there
is a picture story. With each layer the artist’s vision becomes clearer and
stronger, just as drafts and editing strengthen a story. The painting may be a still life, or a portrait, or landscape, or
even abstract, but when it’s done it’s complete unto itself. Finally, it gets a
layer of varnish to protect and seal the product, declaring it ready for the
world. For the story, it is now a book and gets a cover. Here are some of my paintings. They each feel like a story to me.
The development of the painting by layers into a final,
cohesive product, feels the same whether I’m painting a picture or
writing a book. It’s about the craft from start to finish. Ultimately, the
painting is hung on the wall in hopes of tempting viewers to look closer,
perhaps even to be moved emotionally. A book is placed on a shelf or an ebook
retailer site, for the same reasons. The nice thing about a book is that the reader can curl
up with it or an ereader on a cold winter day, or bask on a beach in the
warm sun, and enjoy the story. I don’t recommend doing that with an oil
painting.
Are there paintings that you recall? Images that have stuck
with you over the years? The same is true of books and stories. What in those stories
spoke to you? The books may seem to be different, but my guess is
that if boiled down to their essence, the books you particularly remember have
similar themes. I tend to read and write about trust, faith and truth. And that’s
where, in my opinion, paintings and books differ. We may be moved by a work of
art, have questions raised, and may even divine a story within it, but it won’t
touch us inside, won’t stir us emotionally to the same degree that the written
word can. You can enjoy a painting and be moved by it, but you probably won’t
need to keep a box of tissues handy while you observe and appreciate it.
Art and other creative themes show up in my books, especially in A STRANGER IN WYNNEDOWER. I hope you'll take a look.
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| BIO: Grace Greene writes novels of Love, Mystery and Suspense with a Dash of Southern Gothic. She is also the author of the Emerald Isle, NC books, BEACH RENTAL and BEACH WINDS - romance with inspiration. Please visit her website www.gracegreene.com and sign up for her newsletter. |
