This is what happened when I let go of control over my artwork.

Despite the simplicity of the idea of creating art, I’ve found that there are a myriad of obstacles that get in the way.

One of the biggest obstacles for me is wanting the painting to be perfect. I want it to come out the way I envision it in my mind. I want control over the process and the outcome has to match my intention. That rarely ever happens.

The physical nature of the universe is such that everything is unpredictable. My body and mind’s ability to achieve an outcome is unpredictable. The physical materials and the way they interact with each other and the environment is unpredictable. Life is unpredictable.

When I’ve tried to control my art, it becomes an excruciating art experience. Tension and judgement proliferate throughout the entire creation process. It’s not fun. I like it better when art is fun. Art can be anything and if one chooses art to be not fun, that’s okay too.

Tension

So here is an example of a painting that I created that took me days to create. I can’t remember how many hours I put into it but it was probably well over 20 hours spread over many days. I didn’t have fun creating it because I wanted it to look exactly like the photo below.

The iconic photograph “Afghan Girl” captured by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry in 1984, features the haunting and mesmerizing gaze of a young Afghan refugee named Sharbat Gula. The image, taken in a refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, became one of the most recognizable and powerful portraits in the world. Sharbat Gula’s piercing green eyes and the vibrant colors of her traditional headscarf create a striking composition that I wanted to reproduce on canvas.

I didn’t use any tracing techniques in this piece, so all the initial drawings were freehand. To replicate the facial ratios and get her eyes just right took forever. Everything was about her eyes.

I have a friend who is an ocularist. If you’ve never heard of that profession before, it’s because very few people have. Ocularists are professionals who specialize in the fabrication and fitting of custom-made artificial eyes, also known as ocular prosthetics or glass eyes. In other words, my friend paints artificial eyeballs to make them look real. After finishing my painting, I had an appreciation for the painstaking work required. Imagine painting all the little details of the iris with the smallest brush you can find.

I can’t say that I like the results of my painting. It wasn’t joyful creating it. It’s a reminder of the frustration of painstaking work. I didn’t like the way the background turned out and I had no idea what to do with the red shawl and her hair. The painting is sitting in my closet.

Here it is:

Each eye is about the size of a quarter.

The reason why I’m showing that painting is because I want to contrast it with a painting that I had lots of fun creating.

Letting Go

This next painting was created in an art class. Every thursday morning, 10 to 15 of us got together to paint at an art studio for 2 hours. There was an instructor there to help us with ideas and techniques if we got stuck. Other than that, we were on our own to create whatever we wanted.

One day, I thought about my Afghan Girl painting and wondered what would happen if I did the opposite process. What if I only gave myself 2 hours to complete a painting? What if I only allowed myself a maximum of two brush strokes to complete any detail? What if I only allowed myself the use of a large dry wall knife to paint the background. These limitations were all designed to stop me from overthinking and to feel the freedom of letting go of control and tension.

I saw a photo of some women in Africa walking down a dirt road carrying baskets on their heads. Instead of trying to recreate the details of the photo, I used it as inspiration to create the feeling of the photo. I love this painting so much that it is hanging in my living room.

In particular, I only gave myself, one or two brushstrokes to detail the arms and face. I didn’t create an initial pencil drawing to layout the figures which is what I always did. As funny as it sounds, I needed courage to let go of the desire for a particular result. After spending about one hour on the background, I added the figures on top of the old paint. I still remember the feeling of, “what if my first brushstroke is wrong, what if the proportions are wrong, what if … what if it all ends up so horribly wrong”.

And then I just leapt. I leapt off the cliff of control and attachment. I let go.

Everytime I look at this painting, I’m reminded to let go of attachment.

I remember to surrender to freedom.

I remember to allow spontaneity.

I remember to trust.

Painting Challenge: Complete a Painting in 2 Hours was originally published in Believe It, This Is Art on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I created this publication because I wanted a community of artists that could share their works of art. The theme of this publication is that everybody is an artist. If you create something, then that is art and you are an artist. A doodle, a coloring book, a photo of a vegetable, A.I. art, a song, a bedtime story on audio, textile creations, jewellry, a video, a circle on a blank page … it is all art. There are no boundaries here, only infinite potential.

My intention for this publication is not to have thousands of readers. If it happens that’s wonderful. My intention is not to have control over the content and the format. Of course, if any content is against Medium terms of service and what most human beings consider healthy, legal content, that’s a no go. Other than that, the sky is the limit.

My intention for this publication is to create a meeting place of artists. Imagine this as an art gallery with comfy couches and chairs. We can gather here to inspire each other to create art often and with passion. Perhaps it is here that you discover a new way to create art. Perhaps your life becomes a little brighter. That will be how this publication and our community experiences success.

Becoming a member of this community means that I will make you an editor. Yes, we are all editors. What that means is that when you write a story, you simply publish it to this publication and it is automatically published without a review process.

There are no format rules. So format your story however you want. Of course, having a catchy title is always good. Although, you could also experiment with not having a title. It’s your call because … there are no rules for formating.

To join this fantastic community, simply make a comment on this story and ask to be included. It’s that simple. You are also encouraged to invite any friends you have to join us. Everyone is welcome!

I look forward to your contribution of art!
Francis Lee

Do You Want To Join Our Community Of Artists? was originally published in Believe It, This Is Art on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A Challenge to you, to push the boundaries of art.

Picture, if you will, a gallery unlike any other, a realm where the boundaries of artistic expression are pushed beyond the limits of convention. Where the canvas of imagination stretches far and wide, and where the brushstrokes of creativity paint a portrait of the extraordinary.

In this peculiar gallery, the artists are not bound by the familiar strokes of realism, nor confined by the comforting embrace of tradition. No, here, in the space between the known and the unknown, artists are daring to redefine what we understand as art, challenging our very notions of beauty and meaning.

This creativity resides in all of us and I invite you to join me in creating art that steps through the doorway into pure imagination.

All are welcome to join me in sharing your special art, especially my friends Natalie, Jenny Lane, Love and DL Nemeril. What if we created art that pushed those boundaries? Where everything created is art. Where tracing is not frowned upon but celebrated. What if, as a community, we inspired each other to create, maybe even collaborate.

I had not created any art for a while but when I saw Natalie create a Winnie the Pooh drawing, I was inspired to start again.

We Are Creators

When I create art, it feels like my soul is laughing. All I’m doing is combining pigment with paper — two objects coming together, yet there is an incredible sense of accomplishment everytime I create something. Why is that?

I believe that we are all connected at the soul level and we were all part of the astonishing creation of the universe. It’s in our very nature to create. When we can take simple things like words and transform them to bedtime stories ( … Jenny Lane), inject words into A.I. to create art( … Love), or trace a bear and color it to inspire another artist (… Natalie), it is all creation. The result is a feeling of aliveness.

The universe was created by combining atoms with consciousness. We create art by using our consciousness to combine objects and thoughts. Creating art is returning to our origin. That’s why it feels so amazing to create art. It’s coming home.

In an ongoing discussion of what art is, I present to you, some possiblities that push the boundaries.

Ode to Roundness

About the Piece:
Asking Price $470,000

Raised near a rubber tire factory in Malaysia, the artist, Francis Lee, has always been fascinated by circular enigmas that permeate through our universe. In this piece, Francis explores the circular nature of socioeconomic trends and the essence of letting go from a Zen perspective. The tension in the lines asks the viewers, “Who are you? What are you?”

About the Artist:

Francis Lee was formally trained as an artist and graduated from the Tuktoyaktuk Remote Learning Adult Night Class Correspondence Art School in Tuktoyyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada. He graduated with high honors in 2023 from a graduating class of 2 (including the instructor).

Travelling Light

About the Piece:
Price $470,000

This sculpture is in my neighbourhood where I live in Calgary. Calgary’s public art initiative attracted 55 submissions in a globally announced competition. This initiative aligns with the city’s public art policy, stipulating that one percent of the municipal budget is allocated to public art projects. The selected sculpture, named “Travelling Light,” is a 60 foot tall, blue metal hoop adorned with street lights, situated on the 96th Avenue bridge near Deerfoot Trail in the city’s northeast. The creation incurred a cost of $470,000, sparking considerable controversy. Read the article here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/blue-ring-artists-surprised-by-reaction-to-installation-1.1991453

About the Artist:

From 1991 to 1993, Lieber worked as a professor of sculpture at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. From 1995 to 1998 he was a lecturer at the Malmö Art Academy and from 1999 to 2000 at the Jyske Art Academy, Århus . Axel Lieber uses everyday objects as reference objects and alienates their materiality by stripping them semantically and filling the resulting empty spaces with new content. — Wikipedia

I’m considering filing a copyright infringement lawsuit. His sculpture has an undeniable resemblence to my drawing, “Ode to Roundness”.

Consider this thought. Travelling light was welded and produced by local construction workers. None of the physical work was performed by the artist.

From Farm to Canvas

As I was writing this story and making my lunch, I glanced down at the sink and saw my assortment of compost ingredients sitting in my sink. I like to dry them out before putting them into my kitchen compost. Otherwise, it gets moldy.

I thought that this looks like art to me. So here is my series entitled, “From Farm to Canvas. #1 is exactly how it looked before I started moving the elements around.

From Farm to Canvas #1
Price $120,000

From Farm to Canvas #2, Tribute to Jimmy Durante
Price: $120,000

Inspired by the photo:

From Farm to Canvas #3, Blossom
Price: $120,000

All three for $300,000.

Do you think I’m crazy for asking $120,000 per sculpture? I think not.

The Comedian

Comedian is a 2019 artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Created in an edition of three, it appears as a fresh banana affixed to a wall with duct tape. As a work of conceptual art, it consists of a certificate of authenticity with detailed diagrams and instructions for its proper display. Two editions of the piece sold for US$120,000 at Art Basel Miami Beach to significant media attention. The third edition was donated to the Guggenheim Museum. Wikipedia

If you think that’s strange, then consider what happened after the art was put on display.

After its sale, while still on exhibit at Art Basel, Georgian performance artist David Datuna ate the piece in an intervention he called Hungry Artist. The banana was replaced later that day. No legal action was taken against him, though he was asked to leave the fair. Datuna stated, “What we perceive as materialism is nothing but social conditioning. Any meaningful interaction with an object could turn it to art. I am a hungry artist, and I am hungry for new interactions.”

In April 2023, the piece located in the Leeum Museum of Art was eaten by a student, Noh Hyun-soo, who then taped the peel back onto the wall. When asked why he ate it, he said that he had skipped breakfast that day and was hungry. Wikipedia

Did you get that? I’ll repeat it.

Any meaningful interaction with an object could turn it to art.

The Butterfly Strikes Again!

I previously published a story about the butterfly effect on Medium. Simple words can ripple through the universe and inspire others. Well, it happened again. When Natalie wrote about Winnie the Pooh, a discussion began about what art is. Natalie shared that she traced Winnie from an existing drawing and colored it with pencils. I was trying to convince her that she is an artist simply because she created it. It is art because it is a “meaningful interaction with an object”.

I don’t know where this story will lead, but what if it inspires some of us to create art together and share our experience. Then Winnie the Pooh colored drawing by Natalie would be a meaningful interaction.

Gen (Love) has been creating artwork using artificial intellgence. Yes, that is controversial now, but it is still a meaningful interaction of words with a computer. It is just as meaningful an interaction as taping a banana to a canvas.

To pay homage to those that have inspired me to begin creating art again, I present to you my latest creation.

Winnie-the-Pooh meets Leonardo Da Vinci

When I saw Natalie’s Winnie the Pooh, I began to think about the history of Pooh and I stumbled onto the fact that Winnie-the-Pooh is now in the public domain in the U.S. As a sidebar, the hyphenated version name of Winnie-the-Pooh is in the public domain not the Disney version name of Winne the Pooh (unhyphenated). Also Winnie’s red tshirt is still copyright protected by Disney.

So then I started thinking of ideas that are in the public domain, and I thought of the Mona Lisa. But what if Leonardo Da Vinci had Pooh bear as the model instead of Mona? What would the painting look like?

All the great masters had models to paint from. Very few paint from their pure imagination. As I have also mentioned in a previous story, many of the great masters also used tracing to create their masterpieces.

I also wanted to explore watercolor pencils. I started my art career with pencil drawings, then migrated to watercolor paints and for the last 10 years I’ve used acrylic paint. Watercolor pencils feel like a combination of drawing and painting and it feels casual and easy to me.

So how can I incorporate all those ideas into one work of art?

I start by asking the Leonardo A.I. image generator (www.leonardo.ai) to create a model for me.

Then I display it on my monitor in mirror image:

I simply taped tracing paper on the monitor and traced the image with soft pencil. Note that the graphite is only on one side of the tracing paper.

I then flip the paper over and transfer the lines onto my watercolor paper by rubbing the tracing paper.

I start to add some light colors:

I add more detail and darker colors. Then I activate the pigment using a wet paint brush.

And here’s the finished work:

That was so much fun experimenting with watercolor pencils. I’m working with cheap watercolor pencils and paper so the results are not as rich and smooth as acrylic paints. However, it was easy to clean up. I could sit on my sofa and sketch and color. When I was ready, I would get my wet brush out and activate the pigment to make it behave like paint.

I look forward to practicing with watercolor pencils and honing my skills with this fun medium.

My Invitation to You

If this story inspires you to create art, I would be excited to see your art and ideas. The intention is to discuss art and how it affects us. We can share any art that we have created from the past or present. We can discuss other people’s art and how it moves us. We can accept that we are all artists at heart. We can create art without judgement. Mostly, I hope to have light hearted fun with each other.

Yes, Believe it or Not This is Art! was originally published in Believe It, This Is Art on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.