I started a new canvas on friday and I am totally engulfed in feelings. Strong, passionate, and positive. Maybe it is this new raw act of expression that I am rediscovering, I am not sure, but it is cool. And it is good to be inspired.
I find it interesting that combinations of experiences can cause inspiration. It is especially true with music for me. (Maybe that is why I married a musician) A song, or even a specific combination of notes can create an emotional spark. The particular emotion that results can depend on the sequence of notes, sounds, lyrics, or whatever. I can have a wave of emotion crash over me in a split second if the sequence is right. I wonder if the same sequences effect people the same way, or if it is specific to the individual, like taste buds. At any rate it is a great natural drug.
For me it is also true with the visual. Obviously pictures of things that are representational can evoke emotions, but recently I have found that it is true at the most basic level. Like looking at a single color. Lately I have found that the color red stirs up strong feelings. So painting with red paint has been incredible. And, if I put on the right music at the same time, well…it is intense. The one thing that is distracting to my senses though is the smell of the paint. It doesn't quite fit. And in the case of acrylic Cadmium Red Medium, the smell is kind of disconcerting. Honest to god this color smells like red jello. Everytime I squeeze some out of it's tube and dip my brush I have flashbacks of being in the hospital when I was five. So Cadmium Red Medium smells like red jello.
That of course begs the question, "what the heck are they putting in red jello"?
You actually can paint - some things - with Jello - I used some to dye yarn! Oh wait - that was Koolaid. But Jello has some of the same compounds, and I know people use it. The Koolaid yarn has been colorfast through many high-heat washings - I felted a bag that I knit out of it.