Worlds within Worlds- Part B

In the previous post, I asked, "How much of the creative process involves setting out in one direction with certain degrees of uncertainty, seeing it through, and stopping completely with utter shock along the way, as the result achieves something that wasn't conceived of at the outset? How does the creative process unfold to allow space for both production and discovery? Space, time, openness, and enough built in pauses to really witness and observe, that which was unintended but beautiful. "

Mid process reflection on test two (grids): Building upon the new found enthusiasm for this method of abstraction, I passed through the days daydreaming in stolen spare moments--during the work commute against the backdrop of NPR, or in those precious moments of suspension, just before a meeting begins, and we wait in rapt attention for the zoom window to open. Returning again and again to the question without an answer: "What else would lend itself to this grid format and subsequent respacing? "

I had been smitten with video I took this Fall from the passenger seat of a rental car at dawn, heading North after a family reunion in North Carolina. As we sped past stands of pine forests, the trees themselves seemed to pull apart and spin. Trees in the distance in focus. Trees in the foreground forming linear wisps and funnels. Not sure how this would translate to the grid, I mocked up a couple iterations in Indesign, and then decided to go for it: Taking three subsequent frames from the video, (30 frames a second- there's much from which to choose). I then mapped them out on the canvas.

It's been fun to test out angle of brush stroke to indicate movement... the vertical trunks repeat through the image, weaving its own framing with the horizontal pulls of the trees across each square. At one point I thought I could use the angle of stroke to build up depth in the painting for the trees. But decided to focus on the figure ground created by the trees and the backlit sky.

Peeking ahead, this morning--like a kid shaking a box to determine what might be inside, I pulled a couple of the squares off the frame to see how they look solo or with white space in-between. Gasp- yet another plot twist- again unpremeditated: Due to the combination of the vertical trunks and the horizontal strokes, each square becomes its own landscape within the larger painting.

Also noting how the white edges become dominant with the frame format....something to think about troubleshooting going forward. Should I paint the edges? Is that something people do?

This second grid study is going more quickly than the first test. I am less worried about it failing now, willing to accept where it ends up, but find myself impatient. I can feel it waiting around the corner- something wonderful, and so much energy and joy in celebrating each splash of color along the way. Some answers can't be known at the outset. Some we just have to work our way through and be open to where the searching takes us.

One of the interior landscapes

A blend of brush strokes to suggest movement