Speaking of Art Blog

Ruffled Sunlight, pastel, 14x11"

 “Have you ever thought about creating a copy of a popular painting of yours, another painting, not a print, exactly like the first one?” 

Every once in a while someone asks me that.  It came up just last week when I posted this newest pastel of mine on Facebook.  The response to my final image was immediate and strongly positive, so strong that someone has already inquired about purchasing it.  Many times when that happens other people come around shortly after that, inquiring about also purchasing it and I have to tell them that it’s already spoken for.  When that happens, someone inevitably brings up the question once again: “Would you consider creating an exact copy of one of your paintings?”

My short answer is no, I don’t do that.  But I want to take the time to explain why in this blog post, and to do that I need to tell you another short story first.  It is about a lifelong friend of my family named Don.  Don has always been multi-talented.  One of his exceptional talents is in his musical ability at the organ and piano.  Don can play anything and he doesn’t need music.  As long as he knows the tune, he’s good.  What a gift!  He loves to improvise.  I remember when I was young and he would be at our house visiting, he’d sit down and enjoy giving an impromptu mini concert for us at our family’s piano.  For the next 30-45 minutes he’d perhaps begin with a classical piece, then segue into a jazz number, then a ragtime ditty, then a show tune, then a simple children’s nursery rhyme song, and then maybe end with a grand old church hymn.  His concerts were always breathtaking and completely unique.  He simply loved to play with those piano keys.

I remember one time after he finished one of those mini concerts for us, one of my younger sisters told him, “That was so beautiful.  Could you play it again, exactly the same way?”  His answer went something like, “Oh no, I can’t possibly do that.  I just created it right now.  Nothing was written down.  It came from inside me somewhere and the next time I play it will be different because I might be in a different mood and feel like playing different notes.  Making something new is like that.  The fun is in the creating itself.”

I have never forgotten that answer he gave.  It is exactly how I feel when I finish creating a new piece of artwork.  Not only will I not be in the same mood the next time I go to my easel, I won’t even be the same person.  I will have grown in the process of creating a new piece of artwork, and trying to recreate the exact same painting would be like trying to put on a shirt that is now a size too small.  I would be trying to stunt my growth if I try to go back and repeat my experiments and trials and errors all over again.  Sometimes I can even see the struggles in a painting once I’m done, and there’s no way to duplicate that.  I’m only willing to fight with a problem child painting once, not twice.  No, a print will have to suffice after buyer number one.

Creating something from nothing is this mysteriously fleeting action that is totally unique every time.  That is one of its hallmark characteristics.  I best not mess with that process either, or I might lose the motivation for why I’m going to my easel at all.  No, I’m going to follow Don’s lead and continue to have “fun in the creating itself.”  One spark = one piece of artwork.  It’s how I work and play.