Paint like Billy Collins

Abstract art is hard for some to come to terms with and, perhaps, harder to appreciate. Many of us believe that -- if there is nothing recognizable in a painting – it’s really not art. Of course, that depends entirely on how you look at it.

In representational art, the marks, shapes, and colors serve the subject. But in abstract painting, the marks, the colors, and the paint itself are the subjects. It’s called non-objective or non-representational art, as there is no literal point of reference to hang on to. There are plenty of parallels in the art realm, such as symphonic or instrumental music, which, like Expressionist art, elicits an emotional response through tone, rhythm, and intensity.

To help us understand abstract art, we can look to those artists whose work somehow manages to live in the space between representational and non-objective expression. Hovering between the two creates a window to a recognizable world we can see through the artist's eyes. It gives us insight into how the creator views the content and how we, by extension, may consider it.

And isn't it the job of the artist to present a unique view of the world? While I appreciate the mechanical skills of an adeptly crafted interior or still life, I also want to feel the artist's voice, to get a glimpse of their point of view. Being privy to how another artist's mind works might even allow us to consider how ours works as well.

We can see the world between abstract and representation in the work of Cezanne, Matisse, and Picasso as they reinterpreted the figure or the landscape without letting go of it entirely. Shifting away from retelling the old stories (as in Neoclassicism) to telling their own. The language they chose became as important as the story itself, just like a Billy Collins poem.

Poets rarely state something directly - they hint, imply, suggest.

Read American Poet Laureate Billy Collins. Or Shakespeare. They paint with words - with simile, symbolism, and metaphor - and speak mountains.

Consider Macbeth.

"Out, out brief candle! Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more." 

So much metaphor packed into just 27 words. There are recognizable references, but such larger meanings hidden in the phrasing. And the result allows us to consider our own personal meaning for the imagery he creates.

Or this favorite passage from the Billy Collin’s poem, Litany:

“You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.

And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.”

Consider art as a collection of symbols and metaphors, in which everything has meaning. Even when the viewer does not immediately perceive it, the message is still there. What is most important is that it has meaning to you, the creator.

All forms of artistic communication present a level of abstraction, from literal representation to interpretive pieces to the non-objective. It is a world seen through the creator's lens. Unless, of course, it's an automotive repair manual… there’s little need for poetry when learning how to replace a starter motor.

Each artist has a choice to make in their work: to paint meaningful word pictures or to help us change a spark plug.