The following list was found among the papers of the painter Richard Diebenkorn after his death in 1993. Spelling and capitalization are as in the original.
Notes to myself on beginning a painting
1. attempt what is not certain. Certainty may or may not come later. It may then be a valuable delusion.
2. The pretty, initial position which falls short of completeness is not to be valued — except as a stimulus for further moves.
3. Do search. But in order to find other than what is searched for.
4. Use and respond to the initial fresh qualities but consider them absolutely expendable.
5. Dont “discover” a subject — of any kind.
6. Somehow don’t be bored — but if you must, use it in action. Use its destructive potential.
7. Mistakes can’t be erased but they move you from your present position.
I’m not really sure how I landed on these, but here they are: “Indian Composite Animal Paintings” from about 1750-1850. I don’t know much about them other than that they’re Hindu. I read that they’re about inter-relatedness of all beings. I’m not sure about the spiritual message, but it looks like people had fun making them. Occasionally I …
You are invited to participate in an exquisite corpse style animal block printing project. Brian Lane of Print Zero Studios is collaborating with artists Peter Foucault and Chris Treggiari for a series of printing events at the Getty Museum in LA this July and August. The project is responding to their current exhibition “Book of Beasts: …
In a recent V. Note I talked about how artists study works by other artists. Transcriptions are like artist’s notes, recording selected aspects and observations in an artwork. Sometimes they serve as a jumping off point for artwork in completely new direction. Transcriptions are not copies. For a commission, Frank Auerbach transcribed Titian’s ‘Tarquin and …
Every January, the League sponsors a 30 day creative challenge open to all of you everywhere, working in any media. January 1-30 we’ll post a daily creative challenge to V. Notes on our website. V. Notes subscribers will receive this post in their inbox every day at 7am PST. To receive these challenges in your …
Diebenkorn’s Notes to Himself
The following list was found among the papers of the painter Richard Diebenkorn after his death in 1993. Spelling and capitalization are as in the original.
Notes to myself on beginning a painting
1. attempt what is not certain. Certainty may or may not come later. It may then be a valuable delusion.
2. The pretty, initial position which falls short of completeness is not to be valued — except as a stimulus for further moves.
3. Do search. But in order to find other than what is searched for.
4. Use and respond to the initial fresh qualities but consider them absolutely expendable.
5. Dont “discover” a subject — of any kind.
6. Somehow don’t be bored — but if you must, use it in action. Use its destructive potential.
7. Mistakes can’t be erased but they move you from your present position.
8. Keep thinking about Pollyanna.
9. Tolerate chaos.
10. Be careful only in a perverse way.
Source: http://www.powersofobservation.com/2012/02/diebenkorns-notes-to-himself.html
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