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This morning nature has gifted us with sunlight filtering through a light mist. Each blade of grass in the pasture turns to face the warmth, while drops of dew sparkle and dance. This is a time I feel at peace, when I have the time – when I make the time – to observe the subtle beauty in nature. And not just to notice, but to breathe it in, the cool crisp air scented with the faint smell of plant decomposition.

According to Wikipedia, “decomposition refers to the process by which tissues of a dead organism break down into simpler forms of matter. Such a breakdown of dead organisms is essential for new growth and development of living organisms because it recycles the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome.”

As humans, we also go through periods of decomposition. Not just of our physical bodies when we die, but in our spiritual and emotional lives, as we shed old thoughts and habits in order to encourage – and feed – the growth of new. Many of us fear death, or decomposition, in any form. Because it means trading the known for the unknown. The known, even if we hate it, is a safe place. The unknown, even if we crave it, is scary.

In painting, decomposition is taking all the complex elements of a scene or a concept, and breaking down those elements to their simpler forms. A thousand hairs on the hide of a buffalo become a stroke of paint on the canvas. In my paintings, I try to convey a concept using as simple a composition as possible. In my painting process, I sometimes start out rather complex and then simplify as the painting progresses, as I become more aware of the essence of the painting. Sometimes I wipe out a whole hour or two of work if what I have painted adds to the clutter but not to the meaning of the painting. 

I am getting better at doing that – of “letting go” of what I have put on the canvas. My tendency as an emerging artist has been to put too much importance on this element or that within a painting, often at the sacrifice of the whole. As I become more aware, and continue on my journey to master the art of painting, I feel more confident in eliminating areas that aren’t adding to the strength of the painting. But in order to do that, I have to understand the painting.

What do I mean by that – understand the painting? For the artist, painting is a way to communicate a concept or an emotion. More than just crafting a “pretty picture,” the artist tries to share her passion; whether the artist uses landscapes, wildlife, horses, city scenes or swirls of abstract color to express that passion doesn’t matter. You hear a lot of artists say, “I paint light.” Okay, so what? Pressed further, the artist might say, “I’m excited by the way the early morning sunlight bounces off the leaves and grasses, making them glow.” Now we’re getting closer. Pressed even further, the artist might say “When I see the early morning sunlight bouncing off the leaves and grasses, it fills me with an unspeakable joy, a feeling of connectedness to nature, a sense of well-being and happiness.” Okay, that is what the artist is communicating.

So when painting this scene of early morning sunlight bouncing off the leaves and grasses, the artist must keep the focus of what she is truly communicating in her mind, and make all painting decisions based on, does this support or does this detract from the true essence of this painting. The painting works when a viewer can look at it and say, “This painting fills me with joy and a feeling of connectedness to nature, a sense of well-being and happiness.” 

A little about the painting pictured above. It's working title is "Complete Honesty." This is how it looks after I played around with it in Photoshop (a tool I sometimes use when deciding what should go and what should stay.) The way it looks on my easel is at the top of the blog.