Finished: “Magisterial,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 58” x 38”

*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on

To get to the idea of our relation to the creative impulses that flow through us, we can look at the way we respond to our own finished work. I have two responses. First, I’m done with the image in terms of my attachment to it. Whether the painting has succeeded or failed, I’m pretty much done with it.

But paradoxically, I also have an almost objective fascination with the marks and traces of my work when it is successful. I look at it and am fascinated by it, because I don’t know how I did it. It’s as if I’m looking at someone else’s work. I am more astonished by the result than anyone else might be. I know that I have been in the service of spirit, a channel for the divine.

Ian Robert’s in Creative Authenticity: 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision

Comments are welcome!