Is anyone as much of the paint slob as I am?

[Laurel Alanna McBrine]

Originally Posted by Margaret Port

I think he had not thrown out a rag, a brush, an empty tube, anything at all for his entire life.
There was mountains of stuff piled on every surface.

I wonder if painters are more prone to hoarding tendencies than the general population?

I know I am quite averse to discarding empty jars, film cannisters, old clothing for rags, outdated telephone books for cleaning brushes, packing materials and such, since I often have a need for such items. I try to periodically organize all this stuff into containers to eliminate the visual clutter and make them easier to find when I do need them.

A person who is unable to let go of empty paint tubes may need some professional help.

True junk, that is neither useful or beautiful, I have no problem chucking.

[Thomasin Dewhurst]

Originally Posted by Laurel Alanna McBrine

A person who is unable to let go of empty paint tubes may need some professional help.

I think that certain artists who are totally focussed cannot be distracted from their work and the necessity of getting down their ever-flowing ideas. So cleaning up their studios is despairing to them as it means sacrificing so much time that could be used for their work. When I am on a roll every now and again everything goes to pot - the house, the studio, the garden, the meals, because it becomes almost painful to stop what I am doing with my painting.

Luckily though, like today for instance, tidying-up, cleaning, gardening, etc. puts me wonderfully on a roll of organisation and then nothing gets in the way of that. Its a great way to give you mental space to think, tidying-up is. Any repetitive, rhythmical physical activity does this, I think. I used to study for exams by playing tennis against a wall just to keep my body from being too restless - repeat a fact 10 times for every ten tennis strokes played.

Artists like Bacon and Freud were / are on a constant painting roll, with so very much to say and so little time to waste not doing it.

[Laurel Alanna McBrine]

A few days ago, I checked out out a couple of books from the library by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The first is titled, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" and the other is "Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention".

These books discuss the state of focus and complete concentration Thomasin describes as being "on a roll". When painting, we can enter such a state that a whole day can pass by in what seems like very little time. It is very frustrating to be deprived of the time to enter that state of "flow".

I envy the men you speak of, to be able to paint without interruption whenever they wished without worrying about the needs of anyone else. For most female artists with families, this is not very often a realistic option.

Thomasin, I get your point that Francis Bacon was singleminded in his focus on his art and empty paint tubes were of no relevance to him. However, with regard to his psychological state, if his paintings and living conditions are anything to go by, I would say he definitely had some issues - but hey, who doesn't?

[Margaret Port]

Please forgive my vague moment. It was Francis Bacon I was referring to. I have just done a quick search on him and have decided now I am not cleaning my studio ever again. All my detritis could be worth a fortune to my estate. I've had it wrong all this time. I have tried to preserve the integrity of my house for future sale value.

It seems there have been many people who have profited from Bacon's rubbish, from the photographer who recorded the studio and then published a book, to those who collected his rejected canvases, mostly with the offending areas cut out of them, to those who recorded the various documentaries. It seems that anything he once touched is collectable.

[Richard Bingham]

Originally Posted by Laurel Alanna McBrine

. . . . artists with families . . .

These are the pertinent words, Laurel. The demands of serving such a paramour as "Art" to the fullest extent of one's being rather precludes having a family, and makes it something akin to joining a celibate priesthood. Michelangelo, Homer and Sargent come to mind as three who followed that course.

The lives of the masters amply illustrate how frustrations of family and interpersonal responsibility complicate "the process" : Rembrandt, Vermeer, Monet, and Rodin, for example. There are those who cheerfully (?) dispensed with the distractions . . . Gaugin, for one, and my personal favorite, Pisarro, who continued painting, apparently undeterred by any distresses arising from the reality that his starving wife and children had nothing to eat . . .

[Laurel Alanna McBrine]

Richard, please pardon me for leaving the guys out of it! Your post was most amusing. You are, of course, right in that male artists with families who are conscientious about their responsibilities are also limited in their ability to devote themselves without distraction to their work.

Remaining single is a great benefit for either sex when it comes to the singleminded pursuit of reaching your potential in painting. Mary Cassatt and Cecilia Beaux spring immediately to mind as examples of women who consciously chose to remain single. Being wealthy, having a supportive spouse and household help never hurts either, which was true for the French Impressionist, Berthe Morisot.

Maybe being a bit of a "paint slob" is not such a bad thing in the long run. Maybe we should be ignoring the mess to focus on more important tasks, no matter what our circumstances. Trying to keep our surroundings in order is a thankless task somewhat akin to shovelling snow in a never ending storm and perhaps the less time devoted to it, the better for our productivity!

[Richard Bingham]

Good thoughts, Laurel, I much enjoyed your posts. The other side of the coin is there were many who appear to have been capable of balancing home and family with the serious pursuit of art . . . like Liz 'n' Bill Bouguereau . . .

As you aptly pointed out, comfortable circumstances are always a plus, and they certainly enjoyed that! (Jeeves, the studio will require your attention when I've finished for the day . . . )