It’s never a blank piece of paper. They say that putting that first mark on a fresh canvas is the hardest part of creating something. I don’t find that to be the case. The paper is never blank. Look at it, get close to it, walk away from it, there is something there already, the way the light hits it, defects, crinkles (and in the case of one of my blocks of paper tyre marks from the time I drove off with it on top of the car and it was promptly run over by the guy behind us, who I should add then saved it. Legend.). It’s like the silence that is never silent.
 |
| Untitled Charcoal and coffee 2008 |
It’s never a blank piece of paper. They say that putting that first mark on a fresh canvas is the hardest part of creating something. I don’t find that to be the case. The paper is never blank. Look at it, get close to it, walk away from it, there is something there already, the way the light hits it, defects, crinkles (and in the case of one of my blocks of paper tyre marks from the time I drove off with it on top of the car and it was promptly run over by the guy behind us, who I should add then saved it. Legend.). It’s like the silence that is never silent.
I find the hardest part is finishing something that I’ve invested hours, days or for one painting that I still haven’t started, years. Some things the end sneaks up on you, you don’t realise it’s there until you step back and know it needs nothing else. They are usually the ones that don’t involve much thought from the start, they grow from the shadows. The ones that are planned or done for a specific purpose, the ones that you know you have to do again if you screw it up are the hardest to finish. You can see the end, know how to get there and bam you screw it up and can’t fix it.
