New Tools, Old Mind

I enjoyed the article in the LA Times on Sunday, Jan 28 on David Hockney and how he uses iPAD to help him paint some of his works.  As noted on the comments, he has always been open to new methods, being a pioneer of the kinds of collage paintings where every unit of the painting is a photograph, but its predominant color contributes to a larger picture.  Here is one of his iPAD productions to give you an idea of how miraculous this process can be.  It's scary to use new tools, and it's important to accept the risk.  I am pursuing an MFA in creative writing largely to introduce myself to the greatest variety of tools I can.  I am reading constantly, and when I write, I try to put into practice ways of writing I've run into in my assigned reading. But I also feel I need to use the electronic tools more creatively, following in Hockney's footsteps figuratively.  I find it inspiring to view a painting like this and realize it started as pixels.  I hope some of my explorations may approach this level of successful practice in a new form.

David Hockney Views a Lane

As I've started observing, collecting, and savoring details from my daily life to use in my writing, I have become more and more interested to read what others say about how they relate to their environments. David Hockney, the British artist, lived in Hollywood from 1978-2005 and I've enjoyed much of his art reacting to that experience. But then he returned to Yorkshire. In an article in the New York Times, Carol Kino records how he described the scene to her as they approached a group of trees along a narrow country lane. "As we drew close to the trees, he fretted over the sun’s position. “The lighting is made for going the other way,” he complained. Then he slowed down so we had time to appreciate each tree individually, and began issuing orders about how to look.

“Watch!” he called out. “The ash tree now comes in — look at the shape of it! And now then on the right, another tree. There’s a point where each one stands on its own. There. Now. It’s surrounded by sky. Now the next one, and it stands on its own. You see?” It was as though he were giving director’s notes. " He told Kino he had seen this area many times and wanted to make a painting of it, but could not yet get it to work since he had to synthesize many perspectives into one. He said he hadn't yet figured out how to do it, but he would.

It's a new idea to me to take in an experience repeatedly and consider how to synthesize it. I like this concept a lot, and I'm thinking over how I'll use it in my writing. I haven't yet figured out how to do it, but I will.