Last week I started to talk about my artistic process. This week I am continuing to work my artistic process for a piece I plan to exhibit at the Box Show at the Artists’ Gallery in Frederick, MD in March. I started this process by revisiting a series of sketches that I had created for another show called Wild Imaginings a few years back. However, life got in the way and I never did finish the idea. But now I am revisiting the idea and developing it into a painting. So this week I am in stage 2.
I started a book of inspiring images that I culled from Pinterest and Google image searches and pasted them into my sketch book. Then I combined these images into Photoshop, using the sketch as a springboard to develop my composition.
My topic for this piece is to illustrate how reading can unlock your imagination. And my inspiration for this piece is primarily from Emily Dickinson’s poem, There is no Frigate Like a Book. The following lines captured my initial inspiration and gave me some concepts and images to work with pertaining to journeys, travel, imagination and creativity. Here are the first few lines of Dickinson’s poem:
There is no frigate like a book (1263)
There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away, Nor any Coursers like a Page Of prancing Poetry – This Traverse may the poorest take Without oppress of Toll – How frugal is the Chariot That bears a Human soul.
Art of Schmidt 