Iteration 2 - Micro-Inspirations and Macro-Effects

MICRO-INSPIRATIONS – MACRO-EFFECTS:

Lately, I’ve been thinking about little shifts – Micro Inspirations. By that I mean, the little impulses that ambush initial intent, displacing some solidly established original plan. One could think of it as ‘revisions’ but I’m trying to highlight a nuanced aspect of this particular unfolding..

In the middle of the night (this was the night where I dreamt my Jr. High, High School, and Early College girlfriend wouldn’t talk with me when I ran into her out in the world) the idea of a white-and-yellow-and magenta geometric piece came to me. Simplifying and brightening the world, I suppose.

So, starting out on that path, I laid out some paper on my studio table and this quite simple but interesting shadow from the morning sun fell across it. (It’s nice to have windows in the studio). Intrigued by the serendipity, I painted the shadow in white, yellow, and magenta instead of painting my original imagined image.

I bother to comment on this because it has happened so swiftly, so often.  It’s a persistent thing. The Universe intervening, perhaps.

Familiarly, it can be as simple as a  color change, like from orange to teal. (Subtle, huh?)  The decision may be small but, often, the effect is large.

Tracking it: There is an Investing in and then a letting go of a plan that really appealed to me. It reminds me of telling our new Cairn Terrior puppy to ‘leave it’ when he has grabbed up his latest item of fascination (often a slipper) to chew on. Or, using another analogy, it’s like changing momentum in physics, for example shifting the course of a super-tanker that has built up speed.

The alteration in trajectory takes energy…or, more experientially, it takes effort. And exertion of whatever we mean by ‘will.’ Relinquishing a path, mourning its loss, embracing a new direction. And then acting.  And putting the paint on paper.

Now, on the one hand, this is trivial. A different color. A different line vector. 

But the quotidian manifests in the larger world as a painting that would never have existed had the shift not occurred.

I intended to paint the picture on the left but ended up painting the one on the right (the greyish tone is actually bright white but you wouldn’t be able to see it if the rendition was accurate).