Skip to main content

The Tao of Painting



One brush stroke     Ink on Paper, 16x20" -Janice Mason Steeves 2013


Two days before I taught my Abstract Painting workshop at MISSA on Vancouver Island, I took a 2-day class called Brush Explorations.  The workshop was taught by Lorne Loomer, a long-time teacher of brush painting who was deeply influenced by the West Coast artist/mystic, Jack Wise.

It was so enjoyable being a student for a change and experimenting with painting/calligraphy.  Our first task was to make our own brush.  Lorne provided us with red cedar bark that had washed up on a Vancouver Island beach.  We were to take the bark outside with us as we searched for a stone that spoke to us.  With that stone, we were to beat the red cedar bark into a brush, loosening all the fibres until we had a very spindly, feathery-looking object that we were to use as a brush.  My bark split into several pieces so I ended up with four brushes of various sizes.



Back inside, we dipped our newly made brushes into Chinese ink and then practised making marks on paper. As I stood, bent over my worktable and played with these brushes, I gradually developed a bodily rhythm, moving back and forth in a sort of rocking motion-over to the ink, then back to the paper, then over to the ink-back and forth, swaying as I painted.  It was very hypnotic and meditative.
I learned that given the opportunity, these brushes can speak for themselves.  I would twist and turn them on the paper, but I let them lead the way.



The images began to look like letters in a secret language.

Lorne gave us instructions to make a booklet of 10-12 drawings.  We were to choose quotations from a large selection that he had copied for us.  Then we were to paint with a quotation in mind.

"The bough sings and the ink dances"   Toni Swenson
by Janice Mason Steeves 2013

"I would like to paint the way a bird sings." Claude Monet
by Janice Mason Steeves 2013
In just 2 days, I fell under the spell of the red cedar brush.

Back at home, I bought a book called The Zen Art Book, the Art of Enlightenment by Stephen Addiss and John Daido Loori. The first chapter is called "Art as Teacher".  Loori writes, "During it's early history, Zen was influenced by the refined practices of Chinese poetry, painting and calligraphy.  The Tao of Painting, a book written around 500 C.E. is the canon on the art of painting as a spiritual path. The Taoist approach to art was unique; it involved learning to express the energy or qi of the subject.  By the Song Dynasty in China (960-1279 C.E.), the Zen arts reached a high stage of development with a novel phenomenon; the emergence of painter-priests and poet-priests who produced art that broke with all standard forms of religious and secular art. This art did not inspire faith or facilitate liturgy or contemplation.....It was not used in worship or as a part of prayer. It suggested a new way of seeing and a new way of being that cut to the core of what it meant to be human and fully alive.  Zen expresses the ineffable as it helps to transform the way we see ourselves in the world."

In my own art practice, Art is the Teacher.  Just as the brush led the way for me in the Brush Explorations workshop, so my painting leads the way for me in my studio, taking me into territory I don't always want to go, driving me to take risks and be courageous.  I have to look at my imperfections, and learn to accept them.  Art can transform. "It enlarges the universe, touches the heart, and illuminates the spirit."  John Daido Loori








Labels:

Comments

  1. measuringspace - sylvia teriAugust 20, 2013 at 2:21 AM

    A wonderful post, Janice. Your expeience with Brush Explorations sounds awesome, especially the making of the brush and its eventual power over your gestures. But your statement,". . .my painting leads the way for me. . ." struck me as so true. There can never be preconcievd ideas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janice Mason SteevesAugust 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM

      Thanks Sylvia, It's exciting working in that way, not knowing what the outcome will be, letting the painting led the way. But I have to say that there is part of me that still wants to know or to have some control. I guess it's a lifelong task, letting go of that.

      Delete
  2. saramorisonAugust 20, 2013 at 7:36 AM

    Janice this is wonderful to see again...i love the book you put together! I read and really enjoyed John Daido Loori's The Zen of Creativity, which you might also like to pick up :) Also the poem I thought you might like is Rumi's The Guest House. http://www.gratefulness.org/poetry/guest_house.htm Hope you enjoy and have a lovely rest of summer! Sara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janice Mason SteevesAugust 20, 2013 at 10:18 AM

      HI Sara,
      Wonderful to hear from you. Thanks for the kind words and for the Rumi poem. I hadn't read that one before. It's amazing. Many thanks too for the book suggestion-it will go on my list!
      I hope the rest of your summer is glorious.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meet the Owners of a Scottish Castle

Anne Tristine Nguyen, Ali Orr Ewing, their children, Ava, Atticus and  their dog, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Dunskey Estate, Portpatrick, Scotland Anne Tristine Nguyen and her husband, Alistair Orr Ewing are the owners of Dunskey Estate near Portpatrick, Scotland where I will teach a painting workshop in September. Dunskey is a splendid Edwardian castle on 2000 acres of ocean-front land with miles of walking trails. As well as daily workshop sessions in the studio on the top floor of the castle, our small group of artists will enjoy breathtaking hikes, superb accommodation and fabulous meals.  Not having met owners of a castle before, I asked Anne if I could interview her to hear a little of their background story and that of the castle. Can you tell me a little of your personal story and that of your husband, Alistair Orr Ewing? Anne emigrated to America when she was ten years old, but it was at an art gallery in Saigon, her birthplace, where s...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Importance of Silence in Art

Gathering Light 60x60"  Oil on canvas © 2014 Janice Mason Steeves  Michael David Rosenberg, the musician known as Passenger, sings, "See all I need is a whisper in a world that only shouts." In the workshops I teach, I find that one of the most common problems with paintings is that they shout. Most have too much going on: too many small shapes, too much texture, extremes of colour, too many lines, too much, too much. One thing I say most often as I walk around the classroom working with students individually, is 'make bigger shapes'.  But not only bigger shapes. Quiet shapes.  Where can your eye go and rest in the painting? That isn't a consideration in much of contemporary painting or much of contemporary life.  Ours is a noisy world both visually and auditorily.  Ours is a world that shouts.  People are afraid of silence. I wrote a blog post  3 years ago about planning a retreat in my own home, where I shut off the computer ...
1 comment
Read more

Liminal Time

 The word liminal comes from the Latin, limen meaning threshold. an in-between place, a place of transition, a time of waiting and not knowing. Dawn and dusk are considered liminal places. Crepuscular animals, like foxes and coyotes are most active at this time of day, a time that is considered a magical time in Celtic spirituality and to Indigenous people which is perhaps the origin of their designation as tricksters.   As I write this, the northern hemisphere has just passed the vernal equinox, where day and night are of equal length.We are in a liminal space between winter and spring right now, unsure if we will have one more storm or snowfall before spring finally settles in. We're also in a liminal place as we live through this pandemic with the  anxiety and discomfort of not  knowing. A  time of great transition for the entire world, wondering what we've learned from this and what lessons we'll carry forward.     Author and Fr...
Post a Comment
Read more