i thought i'd share a new blog post about my working process and one of the projects that i've been working on lately. over the past few months i've been looking into the origins of art - i figured you need to know where and how it all began in order to know where it's going. for this i decided to do some background research into cave art and was astonished to learn that some of the earliest art was created 40,000 years ago. i was particularly struck by cave art hand prints that had been made at this time, and even more interested to learn that this may have been one of the first times human beings had discovered the idea of time, a future and perhaps even their own mortality. it appears as if these art works were left for future encounters with further generations - in some ways all art is a communication and dialogue between the entire history of mankind. its for this reason i find art so fascinating.
i mixed red ochre pigment with water and used two straws. one to dip into the bowl and one to blow through. if you blow the straw that's dipped into the paint in just the right way you get splatters of paint produced onto the canvas...
similarly to photography, you're able to produce 'negatives' that imprint themselves on the canvas...
i'm not entirely sure where this project will end up, but recently i have been instructed by Austin Klein's 'Show Your Work' to read obituaries. the realisation that you're going to die one day is a hard pill to swallow, but the reminder helps you to make better decisions, makes you less fearful and have a greater appreciation for being alive.
i like when who seemingly disparate ideas reconvene in the mind to make something new. could i link this back to early human psychological development?
side note - i've realised whilst writing this blog that sharing out in the open is incredibly useful in order to allow you to articulate your thoughts, get your ideas in order and learn more about your way of thinking.
try it!