Imitation vs. Creation

Though the colors are stronger and the composition is inverted, this one is a fairly close copy of a piece by Cathy Mevik, one of the artists I follow on Instagram.

I created it because I love her work, and because part of my own pleasure in painting is creating blended surfaces, but somehow my own always seem too bland to me.

So I thought if I could echo Cathy's process, I might find something in it that I could use for myself. But what I see here is how lovely and organic her work feels, and how stiff and contrived this feels in comparison.

Now I get that that is because it's a copy, so my movements were controlled, not free. But the real question is, would the artist in me have made these choices -- because that's who I'm seeking to honor and express in this process. I'm not promoting my capacity to mimic others: I'm searching out and exploring whatever tools might be needed to allow my inner artist to flow onto the canvas with grace and joy.

... which is (to digress for a moment, since it's Mothers Day and one thinks about these things) how I endeavored to raise my daughters. We wanted to expose them to as many possible ways of thinking and being and expressing in this world, in hopes that they would somehow in that process discover their own inner artisans -- in whatever field they were born to excel -- and then have the opportunity to pursue and express their innate gifts.

I love who those girls have become; love how they are finding their paths, and how those paths both echo and diverge from the paths their parents have traveled. Mothering hasn't always been easy, but there are moments of pure joy in watching them that are somehow related to the moments of pure joy I find in writing, photography, and painting. Which is why I think Mothers Day is really about celebrating the nurturing and creative process in everyone, not just those who've given birth and/or raised children.

So how is Mothers Day different in a pandemic? We're about to find out: we're scheduled for a family zoom conference -- our first as a foursome -- in 15 minutes or so. Each daughter has sent me a gift and a wonderful note, but I don't think it's really about that: it's about connecting, finding out about each others lives, growing together... Hopefully some of that can take place over Zoom. We'll see...