I was doubly lucky last
week because I had a thoughtful discussion with a great artist, Patricia
Watwood, about how most notable representational art is "real" and about what
happens to artists when they are faced with stepping outside that mold. For
example, Watwood recently created a painting of an angel, and, leaving aside religiosity,
we discussed how fun yet strange it was for her to figure out how to draw angel
wings, of all things.
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Fallen Angel by Patricia Watwood, 2012, oil painting
on linen, 30 x 30.
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It made us both realize
that there aren't many tried-and-true processes for painting and drawing images
that are more fantasy art than not. Yet most people really respond to the
genre--in movies, books, and, yes, art. Watwood, a well-respected
oil painting artist who
works extensively with visual allegory and symbolism, pointed out that
sometimes painting objects or figures that aren't 100% "real" is liberating and
necessary for her. The lure of this kind of image is that it allows her to
articulate feelings and energy that realism alone isn't able
to evoke.
Watwood is certainly
not alone. Because "fantasy" images sometimes do a better job of conveying an
artist's message than something concretely real, it's no surprise that artists
have turned to fantasy pictures over the last few decades, but we should also
remember that fantasy art is as old as art itself. After all, what is a
mythological painting by Goya or an ancient sculpture like the Winged Victory
of Samothrace, other than pure fantasy? And many fantasy pictures of yesteryear
are the forefathers of today's comic books, blockbuster movie hits, bestselling
books, and some really good art.
It's up to you to
decide whether or not to paint angels, insects, people, landscapes, or anything
else you fancy, but I do think that choice is yours and yours alone, and no one
should feel like there is a dead end to their art because of the impasse
between realism and their more imaginative ideas. And if you are curious about
what is on that "other" side where representational art and realism part ways a
bit, check out how masterfully James Gurney traverses this divide by blending
aspects of realism and fantasy art in his book Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter. Enjoy!
