Digital amnesia

How the heck did this come into the world?

24 x 30” oil on canvas

I recently completed this painting and it really pleases me. It’s filled with complex layers of warm and cool vibrating side by side to create a shimmering glow that perfectly conveys what I feel about the magic of flowers. I’d be delighted to paint more in this vein, amassing a collection of florals that lift my spirits. If only I could remember how I did it 😳.

The painting started from a cropped detail from a larger photo of a tree that I shot last spring. (Don’t ask which species because I’d only guess). After zooming in on many areas within the chaotic, pink canopy, I found this little arrangement that felt almost musical.

The rhythm and sense of airy lightness caught my imagination and I wanted to try it. Crucially, it also had a very nice focal bloom with some supporting flowers arranged asymmetrically around it. I could have cobbled together something similar but it was a happy gift from nature to find the flowers so beautifully composed.

After that, well, I must have started painting but the mystery of how remains.

I’ve examined the painting at length, looking for traces of my first marks. Did I tone the canvas? Did I block in the shadows on the petals in warm or cool before developing them? How did it grow from white ground to what it is now? I could only guess until I found this video saved in my Procreate files. It appears that I used Procreate right from the start instead of in my usual way which is to bring it onboard when I run into problems.

I digitally figured out how I wanted to simplify the vast amount of information, finding larger patches of colour and value to surround the complex little flower shapes. The resulting image - rather than the photo - became my starting point.

It appears that I stuck pretty close to the Procreate version in most places save the lower middle of the painting where I deviated from dark purples to a mid-value green. Going back through my photos, I found this in-progress shot from April 1 which shows how problematic the purple area was when executed in paint rather than on a backlit screen. The area feels weak and doesn’t support the concept of sunlight hitting the flowers. As well, it’s just too much purple and pink for my liking. So, at some point between the 1st and the final photo of the completed work on April 16th, I covered the purple with green which enhanced the sensation of sunlight and created a complexity conveying tangled of branches, blooms and leaves.

Good call, Ingrid!

But it bothered me that I could recall none of this because I can usually remember almost every stage of a painting; the bad choices, the scraping off and trying again, the trialing of colours, everything. Not so with this one.

I’ve finally figured out that it has to do with that first digital step. I came to the canvas with such a clear plan that I eliminated all of my usual explorations and missteps. Because the painting came together easily, it left no battle scars on my psyche and I’ve forgotten the process.

This got me thinking about when my kids were learning math in elementary school. It was the early 2000’s and computers dominated their classrooms. Instead of manipulating physical objects to learn addition and multiplication - I remember adding up little round chips on my desk when I was a kid - they were expected to understand concepts by looking at 2-D objects blinking on screens. They struggled terribly and I wonder if they’d have had an easier time understanding and retaining lessons if they’d learned through their hands, not their screens.

I’m undecided about what this means for my future painting planning. Will I avoid digital plans or embrace them? As with everything in life, it’s not black and white. Procreate has saved countless stalled paintings for me over the years and I love it. It allows me to test ideas without mucking about on the canvas and it lets my experiments range freely in a way that irreversible mediums don’t. And, honestly, a lack of struggle and indecision is not a bad thing!

Still, I do love process. Standing at the easel, pondering what ifs, testing ideas, putting paint on and scraping it off again are my rhythm and I enjoy every frustrating minute. I have no urge to give that up.

I think that complex images like this one will definitely benefit from digital organizing and simplifying but for images with fewer shapes to sort out, I doubt I’ll make a change. That will give me a nice balance and feed my apparent need for artistic frustration:)

Happy painting!

*My newsletter will always be free but if you’ve enjoyed my writing and would like to show your appreciation, I’d be honoured.