Art as Experiment – Creating for Play and Exploration
Discovering Play in Art
Ah man, I’ll never forget when I learned I could experiment with this sh*t and not take it too seriously. Art doesn’t have to be serious all the time. Over time though, the process itself? I realized I could play. I had to learn that later in my development as an artist, and funny enough, it clicked in art school.
I learned that I was literally the kid and the canvas was my playground.
Experimenting helped me find my style. I stepped outside what I thought creativity was supposed to be. I had to detach my art from myself. Like I said in another article, I am my art but my art is not me. My pieces have their own identity, and I had to learn that before I could head toward real success as an artist. You can express yourself, but how do you express in a way that works for you FIRST and your audience SECOND? That’s what I had to figure out, and I learned it through playful experimentation.
Learning Through Failure
Lots of f&k-ups, canvases wasted, paint down the drain, hours gone. I’ve lost my marbles over mistakes more times than I can count. But I learned to accept them. That’s where I discovered who I really am as an artist. I’m calm with it now. I can f&%k up and try again and again and again. Each time I approach the canvas, I try a new method, a new approach.
When I have no plan in mind, I just sit in front of the canvas , maybe listen to some music ( I gotta drop a playlist for y’all sometime) or walk around the room a bit. Sometimes it’s risky, but I grab a random color and start. I usually begin with facial structures in my style and let it bloom from there.
Experiments That Worked and Failed
The weirdest experiment that worked? Honestly, it was me. I was the experiment in my own art. I just went for it at any time, regardless of how I was feeling , and somehow it worked. And the failures, oh man, the skeletons of my failed works fill my storage. Ever seen Inside Out when the memories fall into that hole and get lost? That’s my old paintings. Some I forgot about, but when I moved the other day and saw them, I realized, damn, these are good too. Too bad y’all won’t see them.
In my last year of college, I took a graduating art class where you build your own curriculum. I started with a serious idea for a series and had a full plan. I ditched five out of six paintings and ended up completing only one in the original plan. Time was tight, but I still produced about few more pieces which totaled to eight pieces out of the twelve and I managed to pass with an A. I jumped from blue to yellow to orange to pink to purple mid-process.
That’s when I knew experimenting wasn’t just fun, it was transformative.
Finding My Style
Experimenting helped me find my style because for years, I tried to stick to what I knew art was supposed to be. I stayed in my comfort zone. Once I broke out, I blossomed. I remember a gallery viewing when someone came up to me and said, "I knew this was your work. I would recognize your style anywhere." Recognition is just as important as monetary gains in this journey, knowing you’re able to create something so unique that speaks YOU.
Experimentation allows me to be intuitive. I try something new every time, bending my style while keeping it recognizable. The style I found has become my signature. When I finish a piece, I let it sit for a couple of days. If something nags at me, I go back and follow the cue my instincts give me.
Every experiment reveals parts of my subconscious.
Growth Through Play
Experimenting taught me to move fast, handle mistakes quickly, and adapt on the fly. Viewers see my experimental pieces and ask how I did that. I’m honestly asking myself the same thing. It’s a superpower. Experimentation helped me grow because it challenged me, helped me break out of a stuck mindset, and allowed me to treat the canvas like a playground. I might fall of the slide, but I climb back up, slide down, and go again.
Playgrounds hurt sometimes, but they don’t stop me.
I fall, I get back up, and I keep playing.
