The hidden sensations of art
- , Art talk
Everyone’s creativity and inside stream, work in a different way. We all feel, interprets and talks about things differently. This is why I wanted to talk about the hidden sensations of art. As I told you in my last post about the symbolism in my art, you don’t need to know everything I think about when I create. But just because it’s a fun and dreamy process, I wanted to share a bit more about little secrets I have when it comes to the feeling and sensations involved in my drawings.
Now here is a subject that may seem odd for some. Or maybe you’ll tell me that it’s exactly what you feel too. My kind of art is visual, so as visual artist I talk a lot about colors, shapes, composition, … But in fact, my inspiration goes way beyond my eyes. All my senses have a part in what’s appearing at the end on the paper. Now you may wonder how taste or hearing have a part in creating a drawing. Because it has, so let me illustrate all that.
When I think about the persons I draw the most, the most important thing is that they are the ones that bring me way more than just their image. And one of the things that trigger the most intense waves of inspiration are the sounds of voices. And here is the core of these hidden sensations of art that I wanted to talk about. Close your eyes, let your tensions and unwanted thoughts go. Then, let the emotions and feelings come to you. Breathe. And now let the fractal of thoughts begins its journey behind your closed eyes. You will see that a simple voice contains a whole world.
Now let me tell you a little bit more about the voice that inspires me the most these days. The one of Captain Kirk. His voice is really an element that make him stand out in my imagination amongst all the beautiful characters I have seen. When I first hear it, it was a real love at first … well hearing. Seriously, who can resist that “Kirk to Enterprise” ? Then I internalized that voice and feel what it was telling me. Voices come with all sorts of colors and flavors. And when I close my eyes, I can feel all that it carries within. So, what do I sense ? First I feel a warm springish breeze passing through my body. I can feel an amazing sip of a delicious smoothie flowing in my mouth, as well as the taste of honey. This voice is clearly golden yellow, as is Kirk’s uniform. It’s a strong but delicate spring flower, not a sunflower or a rose, but more a daffodil. It bears the idea of simple but not of easy. It’s something sweet but with a kick of spices. Something like turmeric. It’s a light blanket covering your shoulder in a summer night, not a very heavy one protecting you in winter.
Then, a totally different Captain with a totally different voice : Captain Flint in Black Sails. This one is much deeper and rugged. It’s a lot less caressing and sympathetic. But it also has its reassuring side because it’s so self-assured. This one feels like the waves breaking on a steep cliff. Its colors would be a very dark indigo and something metallic like an antiqued copper. It feels like an iron snowflake in a blizzard, but not like the blizzard itself. It’s a more complicated and subtle sound than just a very deep strong voice. So, every time an image of something big or scary appears when hearing this voice, it’s not that thing. It’s something weirder or rare born from it. So, if it feels like a strong alcohol like whisky, it’s in an old fashioned. If it tastes like dark chocolate, it’s twisted with a spice. And if it’s coffee it’s not black, it’s sweetened. It sounds like it’s wood, but not any, a dark and flamboyant one like teak. Or maybe one that’s not even wood anymore, a fossilized wood. It also feels to me like blueberries, a very cold and very bright winter sun, nutmeg and a very deep non floral incense.
You may think that I have just extrapolated from the visual of the characters,but that’s not it. In reality I think that people responsible for casting are also very aware of this kind of things. Maybe in a totally different way. But what I’m saying is that they choose the best person to fit the idea of a character. And the teamwork between the actor, the creators, people from design, … lead to that final energy. And that energy that we can perceive, blooms in our minds to create these images and sensations. Also, we know that actors alter their voices depending on the roles. Toby Stephens, for example, doesn’t sound like that at all in his other roles and the feeling is really different.
So, in what way is all that important ? Why is that sort of synesthesia of ideas useful ? Well, in my case it helps me create my compositions, color palettes and choose my reference photos. All these sensations are extremely useful to express more than just drawing a face on a piece of paper. It helps me express something, tell a story and convey emotions. Sometimes all these emotions are very obvious and instantly here. Sometimes I need a little meditation to connect to my character, but the intricate depth of a voice is always an endless source of inspiration.
What are your thoughts on all that ? If you’re an artist, what kind of unusual feeling do you experiment about your subjects when you create ? And if you’re not an artist, is that subjet science fiction, or do you also feel this kind of weirdness when you look at paintings, read books, see a movie … ? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to know what you think !
