Experimentation and Art

Seems to me that one of the great things about making paintings or drawings or whatever is the chance to try out new ideas, materials, thoughts, viewpoints and so on. Without a sense of experimentation one doubts that one two and three-point perspective drawing wouldn't have developed. Nor would realistic figure paintings, nor Impressionism, nor Cubism, nor any number of -isms we've seen in the last century or so. 

For me, experimentation can be a way to try new paint colors, or new supports (canvas, etc), a new way of working or a way to break out of a rut. Only a few days ago I posted a painting of Donner Lake but although I mentioned it was done on a kind of paper I didn't say that it was actually an experiment with that kind of material (Strathmore Heavyweight Mixed Media paper). Most oil paintings are done on wood or fabric and few have been on paper, so I was interested in using it. Turns out this material is so absorbent that the oil from the paint sinks right in, which means more layers. Not long before I posted about the Donner Lake painting I posted about imagination and art. Making an imaginary landscape was an experiment then, too. 

"Jug," casein, 8x6 on panel, private collection

"Jug," a very small still life study from a few years ago is a good example of experimentation in my art practice. Casein is a very old painting medium that uses milk solids and is rarely employed these days. I did this as an experiment with a new kind of paint, but with no other motive. The bottle is about half full of blonde shellac and is sitting on my round glass palette as light spills in from the window. The work turned out well enough to be offered at the Salmagundi Club's Thumbbox Show that year, where it was sold. Although I don't do a lot of work using casein, it was a useful exercise.

Experimenting is the life blood of progress, seems to me.