Art is a series of choices, but it must be intuitive to be natural, which comes from years of practice so that the act of making art is internalized. Every brushstroke I place
on the canvas, for instance, is a choice. What color do I make this spiral shape? What blend? What thickness? What weight? What tightness? What whimsy? What does it touch? Does it fade? Does it turn into something else?
This internal conversation can go on for years about a single section of a painting, or it can take a second. For example, I have a painting that has been in development for 19 years, with at least another year until it is complete. It is a composite of minute and significant choices that are both intuitive and strategic. Ultimately, every inch must be exquisite.
Remember the next time you are viewing a piece of great art, that the form it has taken comes from choices the artist made, with even the smallest of brushstrokes. A deeper appreciation of how much love and focus has been expended can then be felt, and a richer meaning will emerge.
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