My Rhythm of Arts

I think I finally found my inner rhythm of arts.

If there is anything I learned from countless hours spent on Orphan Black’s interviews and panels is that every artist has a process to make arts. This process can be anything and is unique to each artist. It essentially defines the arts and can be used to distinguish one artist to another. You like writing in the morning? That’s part of your process, you may have a very interesting view of a morning. You need a coffee before started anything? That’s part of your process, you could be spending time contemplating your ideas while drinking coffee and it would spark a moment. You like moving your mouth or acting out the character you’re drawing? That’s part of your process, you could have an embedded memory for that particular action which ultimately defines your character. All these feelings add up. Whatever they are, they become a process. They are what make you, you. They are what make your story, your story. 

Now I understand why you need practice. Practice makes perfect. Yes, everyone knows the saying. But practise doesn’t just include the technical skills, it is the whole process. It is what you do every morning to bring yourself up, get ready, feeling fresh and energetic. It is what you prepare before a painting, like Felix not wearing any pants or Bob Ross set out all the colours he would use. It is the steps you go through to realise what you want before you can achieve what you want. These are the things you can only get when you repeat what you do. By doing certain things over and over again, you arrive at the set of steps that are crucial for your works. These steps are where you would spend all your energy on. You eliminate all the redundant ones and minimise the effort to do the rest. 

I said I have finally found my inner rhythm so let me demonstrate this on my new found love for photo editing. It’s a love-hate relationship that I’m still working on with myself. I could put it off for as long as possible but will drown in it the moment inspiration hits. I would start with a hint of wildness, to randomise things. Hate me all you like, I always autotone the photos to start with. It gives me a very good idea of what I want or not. Then I take things to the extremes. I want to see how far it can get, how far I, can get. I want to see what the photos would look like if it has 100% contrast or how I feel when the red hue is completely shut off. After I have enough fun, I would tone down a bit, I would do one or two responsible things to balance it out. I know the lines I have stepped and I don’t usually correct my mistakes, nor that there are anything in arts that can be qualified as mistakes to begin with. There is no mistake, just happy little accidents, as Bob Ross would say. I may still love and hate the final results. And I am still full of self doubt that I keep doing this over and over again to the same photos and in the end, I have to just publish them to stop myself from fiddling. But the process is there and the feelings are real. It gives me stories to tell when talking about my arts. For how ever much I under appreciate it before, I fully appreciate it now. It is what I do to just do.