The Joy of the Unknown

Starting a new series is always so exciting. I have no idea what is going to happen and that excites me.I am starting my latest series with a clear intention but with no plans.What that means is that I have an overall aim - a feeling I want to capture - but no idea of how I will do it. I find that painting this way gives me enormous freedom, provides a sense of real joy, and results in exciting work.In the past, I often let my thinking control my painting and this caused real problems. The thinking and striving and trying just got in the way of what was possible.My mind can only make plans for a painting based on what it already knows. But everything it knows is in the past  – and the entire sum of my mind’s knowledge is tiny compared to the infinite array of amazing possibilities. By using my limited, past-focused mind when I painted, I was blocking everything I was capable of but hadn’t yet experienced.It's a bit like clinging on to a person or a job that you know isn't right for you. You are afraid to let go because at least you are familiar with this current situation. But eventually, you lose the job or the person anyway and when you look back, you can see that it had to be that way. Without that change, none of the stuff that came after could have happened.The reason you held on so long is that you could not imagine all the stuff that was about to happen. You could only think in terms of what you already knew. So you were blocking the stuff that wanted to happen because you were clinging so tightly to what you already knew.This same thing happens in painting. It can be scary to let go and trust, but I have learned that it’s the only way I can make authentic and interesting work.So, my intention for this series is to convey a sense of the wild freedom of the moorland landscape near my home. My route to get there is unknown and I find that really exciting :)