THE IDEA
This was definitely NOT my idea. I think, plan, title, sketch, pick colors, re-think it all, before ever putting paint to canvas.
Mr. Joel Paul Geist is a music & film buff, lover of the arts, and hand model for my painting “Rage Against the Machine”. He also adores to push people outside their artistic comfort zones. So on a recent visit, he gave me a challenge: Abstract Live Painting. The result would end up being a window covering for a diamond-shaped window in his 1963 home. Needless to say, I PANICKED!
The Process
THE RULES
Joel supplied the canvas, paints, and brushes.
Joel supplied the “playlist” that would drive my inspiration.
I had a maximum of 2 hours to paint. I was not allowed to see the playlist in advance or to even think about it ahead of time.
THE EXPERIENCE
After the initial panic wore off, I had a blast!
It was a wild musical ride: All instrumental, from The Beatles to a Clockwork Orange, Star Wars, The Nutcracker Suite, just to name a few.
While I was happy with what I painted in the first 20 minutes, I was having too much fun to stop.
What would I change? Open all the paints BEFORE starting. #logisticsfail on my part.
THANK YOU Joe for arranging and capturing the experience!
CLAUDIA BERMAN paints "REFLECTIVE" in 90 minutes, view in 90 seconds.
THE TITLE: REFLECTIVE
The ideas for my paintings and their titles are created simultaneously. Since there was no concept before painting, I struggled with the title for several days afterward.
In reflecting on my experience, thinking about the reflective nature in the mirrored sunglasses, and when different colored light reflects against it (Joel’s also a lighting buff) changing the mood, “Reflective” became the title.
Multicolored light changing the mood