The Dancer watercolor on Yupo 14x11"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music " - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzche
I am really enjoying painting on Yupo - learning with each new piece. In The Dancer I played again with just paint, water, brush. Yupo surface was perfect to bring out the silky transparency of the bellowing skirt and the veils. I used a bunch of photographs taken many years ago at a dance demonstration and added my own background of veils. I finished the lady more than a week ago and then waited for inspiration to resolve the background. Since this is yupo I may yet come back to it after a few days :)
Over the years, every time I saw those photographs, or I see someone totally absorbed in creating art, music or anything else, I am reminded of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of 'Flow.' According to Mihaly, Flow is completely focused motivation. It is single minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing emotions in the service of performing and learning. Check out this video of a TED talk by Mihaly on 'Flow' - creativity and happiness.
