Observing the Dumb Brush and Ascending Drips

"Automatism" is a term used by artists and psychiatrists to describe mental associations which are more dream-like than rational.  The term was coined by French Psychiatrist Pierre Janet in the late 19th century based on observations of psychic mediums while applying hypnosis as a treatment for mental health patients.

Surrealists adapted Automatism into their work as Automatic Writing and Automatic Drawing, in the early 19th century and it remains a tool many artists use for subject matter today as well as simply engaging a more expressive, creative consciousness experience.

While Andre Breton defined Surrealism as 'psychic automatism in its pure state' in 1924, I would venture to suggest that the way children see angels and animals in the clouds is a much more pure state.

 

Recently my reference of what I call "dumb brush" painting came up in conversation.  For me, "dumb brush" describes a similar activity to what is hoped for in automatic drawing - elimination of the inner critic and the limitation that goes with it.  To hold a brush dumb is to handle it as one might imagine a big dumb ogre would handle a spoon at a bowl of soup, ravenously scooping the utensil overhand rather than in a more classic writing position. 

To eliminate the writing posture, for me, is to invite the right brain a little more into the creative equation - especially for the right-handed artist.  The goal is to be more in-touch with feeling the movement of paint rather than thinking about where it should be.

I combine dumb brush handling with all styles of work from representational to my flow and blow color field and ascending drip paintings.  It enhances the experience and expression and provides hours of enjoyable creative challenges,afterward, exploring what was made. 

A few years ago (okay, so maybe a few, few years ago), I did a big dumb brush painting (before it was so named) and took it home.  Over the next 24 hours 22 images emerged on the canvas.  All sorts of faces, wearing all kinds of expressions were looking back at me.  Interestingly, that morning in my journal I had written, "as you observe, so shall you be observed" as a reminder of how we form the lives we experience through our viewpoints whether or not we intend to do so.  The painting was a beautiful out-picturing of that sentiment, as the many figures and faces had observed and were the result of my every action without thinking about it.

Images pictured below were photographed from this painting, Bethesur, 24"x36", acrylic and pumice on canvas, 2014

While faces show up in much of my work, observers of the work come into play in their most "pure state" during what I call Ascending Drip paintings.  These are visceral works of sliding and loading color onto the canvas and interchangeably creating drips and loading more paint into the space between the drips with an ascending stroke.  For me, this movement is representative of the interchange of thought and manifestation, it also lends itself to automatic painting as I am absorbed in the expressiveness of the experience and my rational mind takes a back seat while my unconscious mind gets in the driver's seat (at least that's what Andre Breton would say).

Here are just a few of the dozens of images that are currently observing the observer in Bethesur.

woman with turquoise eyes and lips smiles under yellow-green bangs

face with red and yellow bangs

turquoise figures emerging from bright light to down from parapet

grey figure (head and shoulder)  peeks out between turquoise drips

Enjoy the day!

More Ascending Drip and other paintings on the canvas page at my website.
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