Painting in your Head

If only I'd brought my sketchbook....

You’re waiting at a bus stop. You’ve no paper or paint or even a sketchbook. Or you come across a scene that would make a good painting and you’ve no materials with you. It happens.

Painting develops the ability to look at a subject in a way that we seldom would otherwise. When else have you happily stood and looked steadily at anything that isn’t moving, often for an hour or more? Painters often say they started to see things differently when they took up painting and I wonder if this is in part because of the length of time we’ll look at things in the course of painting them. And often this will be the first time in life we’ve ever looked -really looked- at anything for so long or so purposefully.

So… if we’re not painting, we can still really look at things in the depth we would if we were painting them. We can mentally solve the painting puzzles the subject before us presents. We can figure out the composition on the paper, and the colour choices and the sequence of application and the timing and range of brushstrokes. Effectively rehearsing the mental end of the painting process, just without having the materials to deal with. And our mental results can be perfect, of course!

It might be pointless, or it might be good ‘practice’. But it certainly does pass the time!

Happy (imaginary) painting!