Some #art thoughts I've been struggling with:
1. I'm learning to do oil painting. I have a lot of cultural baggage about painting, from outside. Oils as high culture, mastery of art, pure fancy creation.
2. I'm deep in a math art place, variations on Menger sponges and related ideas. Stark geometric objects, fine hard lines and proportions.
The two fit together weird; I feel like my subject is fighting my medium, and yet feel like using tools (stencils etc) to mitigate that is "cheating".
And that "cheating" sense is something I'm trying to power on past, to say, fuck it, there's a whole history of modern art unmoored from fusty Old Masters mystique. My hand is unsteady? I need a sharp straight line? Do whatever makes it happen!
But it's still there in the back of my head, in the wrestling match between different things I could do when I sit down to paint. Better to use a tool, force a straight line? Better to freehand and train my unsteady arm? Better to find a compromise? Etc.
@joshmillard I think if you feel precision is important to the message of your art then you should use any available tool to help you achieve it. I guess what matters is whether you think the straightness of the line has significance.
@joshmillard the other thing is that even when you use tools, especially as a beginner, there are still flaws because your hand is still on the tool. (Unless you program a machine to do it for you.)
I'm reminded of seeing notable works of geometric abstraction in person vs seeing a photograph. The lines appear precise and perfect in the image, but a close look at the painting reveals layers upon layers with crisp yet imperfect edges.
@jec Right! There's this conflict between the "ooh, I wonder what will happen" aspect of just jumping in with oils and playing around, and the "i have a vision in my mind and want to execute it as accurately as possible" aspect of the mathy stuff.
And the former is going fine: I like what I'm doing! I like most of the results!
The latter is pulling me toward tool use and/or other mediums.
And I don't have to choose, other time and attention span, but those are actual factors, hence conflict.