Without Changing Eyes or Hands, or Clouds or Silence
30x40 inches
Some Discord Required: New Works by Deeds Davis
“In any system, there are forces pushing towards organization and others introducing unpredictability. A truly creative idea straddles both of those states. “The truly creative changes and the big shifts occur right at the edge of chaos. Dr. Robert Bilder ”
-Where Creativity Flourishes – On the Edge of Chaos
Covid-19, the global crisis that has lasted two years and seven months, has taught me about chaos, lack of control, illusions of safety, how we resist new ways of being, and about letting go. Working through the pandemic as an essential worker taught me how to become a better painter.
I learned a fistful more than I would have liked about human nature. I was taught by some people’s willingness to change, who embraced the turbulence and found a way through, playing music from balconies or learning how to sew the most effective mask
when PPE was in short supply. And then there were those who refused to acknowledge and accept the new way of life, those who could not adapt.
I decided I wanted to practice adaptation as an artist. Departing from objective art into the realm of abstraction. I started using the most unpredictable medium I could think of, water.
My first watercolor teacher, Josephine Jones, announced on day one,
“Once you understand that watercolor is 80% accidental, you’ll be a great painter!”
And one of my greatest influences John Singer Sargent once said, “Painting a watercolor is like making the best of an emergency.”
Additionally, I used alcohol inks, ash from lightning struck trees, isopropyl alcohol, salt, and opaque pigments. These tools of the trade rely on unpredictable chemical reactions: CHAOS. A series of emergencies, some beautiful, some unpleasant. I then added watercolor’s opposite; hard geometric lines and shape as a metaphor for our place in that chaos.
Lastly, I embraced letting go. I let the moment and materials
make their marks, allowing the chaos to unfold creating something
meaningful. And if I was in disorder’s slipstream, if I had adapted even to a small degree, I hope to have made something resonant.