Slathering Pigment Without a Muse

Slathering Pigment Without a Muse

Creative people, painters especially, actually rarely claim to use that particular source of inspiration, known as a Muse. It just sounds either fanciful or sexual to claim to have a goddess poking or being poked. Historically, none of the Classical Muses were assigned the task of assisting painters, likely because painting was primarily representational and not abstract like music, dance, or poetry. Who would need inspiration to paint what is in front of ones eyes?

How funny when the visual arts ventured away from rendering the three dimensional world and into abstract territory, the realm of music and poetry. New muses appeared, often in human form. One might list flesh and blood muses and the artists that they motivated. There are some who desire to stimulate creativity who willingly serve as muses. Others either resist or are not necessarily aware that they inspire.

Yet, painting and writing and music do not necessitate the engagement of muses. These activities proceed with or without their participation. An artist may work a lifetime with no cue card holder or invisible creature offering a special tube of red passion, all the while making fantastic artworks, one after the next. The simple truth is artists make art and poets write poetry with what they have inside.

Even if an uncaged muse flying around the studio may contribute to the creation of better work it is the holder of the brush who milks the magic. Painters paint and whether or not there is something flitting through air, the act of creation is a mysterious process, neither fanciful nor sexual. Today, I will select red paint as my own default muse. So, too, paintings can be created with or without to use of red pigments.

Only a week ago my muse took the form of yellow paint.

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