A Commitment to Creativity

As the search for an agent continues, the Muses don't stop whispering in my ear. I could of course buy earplugs, but something tells me that's not going to be enough. It never is. Expression. I need to channel the creativity into something and that something has just come around the corner in the form of 'Asian Daily Paintings'.

What is Asian Daily Paintings? It's an initiative set forward by Elsie Evans and myself to get a gathering of local and expat artists together and paint on a daily base. There are several rewards, the most obvious one is a collection of art, which we can then sell to the public or decorate our house with, but it goes further. Discipline, commitment, practice and the rhythm of creativity are the rewards that follow in a venture like this. Also it is nice to get local exposure and who knows what can come from that, right? Maybe a staff member of a hotel sees the art and suggests it to her boss, who then wants to contract the artist for an assignment. Or a random browse on the Internet by a journalist leads to curiosity enough to write an article about it. Maybe a friend of a friend who sees one of the paintings at his place decides to Google the artist and sees other creative projects (like Sesame Maps or Aelemental) he is doing.

The exposure and sale of art are of course great, but by-products of what's really important: the joy and fun in creating something spontaneous. Direct results. Not too much planning or thought - after all, you have to do one a day. Right now it takes me under an hour to paint a piece. I'm starting easy with a series called 'Glyphs'. They are 30cm x 30cm (sometimes larger, but as an exception to the rule) white canvases with a black abstract symbol painted on to it accompanied by one color.

It hearkens back to my university years when I used to doodle. While I listened to one monologue or another I would let my hand wander and scribble a few swirly lines, which I would then connect and 'flesh out'. An object or image of a concept would somehow always appear, which I would then give more character by adding a few color enhancements. I came up with dozens in my time, but of course they all got thrown out in my big move to Africa in 2002.

Now I'm redefining my creative expressions. Not with a young adult novel or scavenger maps for traveling kids (both pending representation). Not with 'i2u', my pro bono community IT work (which is pending backup with a web site and other promotional material). No, I'm going with painting. Besides...I still have 23 hours left in the day to do the rest, right?