Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid

"Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" - mixed media on 300 lb watercolor paper, 15" x 22".  Ready to frame.  Available here and at Artfinder.

​Ambiguity can be a lovely thing.  In art, it is "the cure for hokey" (Stan Kurth).  In life, it allows a little wiggle room for interpretation.  Things unsaid cannot be misinterpreted or misused.  Think of ambiguity as the anti-Twitter.  Using no characters at all won't get you on the news. :)

But this post is about art - and this painting is filled with things unsaid. Even from a process perspective - this was just in the early stages when it declared itself DONE.

first steps: semi random marks on paper with an initial watercolor glaze

Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid

And this is exactly where the pause becomes important (in life and in art).  Once I added the additional layer of watercolor glazing, I stepped away from this for a day.  By pausing for 24 hours, I was able to see (with help from the Grand Master himself) this piece was done - even though there were more steps in the process.    If I had continued to paint and fiddle and try to clarify the piece, it would have become less ambiguous, less impactful and probably a chicken - can you see the chicken next to the keyboard in the first steps photo?

Despite the intensity of this piece, it is only watercolor over the random marks (oil pastel, charcoal, colored pencil, regular pencil).  Not a drop of acrylic or gesso, which would have been next in the process.  Yet it packs a wallop, and has a lot to say without saying exactly anything at all.  Which is perhaps the point of abstraction.

In life, a pause before speaking, acting or reacting allows the brain and heart to have a little meeting and maybe sort out what matters most.  As I contemplate the variety of tattoos available in the world, I wonder if perhaps a pause button would be an effective symbol to get inked onto some very visible part of my body (like maybe my forehead?) so I won't forget how important it is to WAIT JUST A GOSH DARN MINUTE before slapping on more paint or speaking my thoughts out loud?  Let's stop a moment and think about that.