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Difference Between Inspiration & Skill?

Early Turner vs. Later Turner

Ruthie, your post on copying made me wonder: What is the difference between inspiration and skill? A skilled artist can create an amazing work, but doesn’t inspiration bring us to tears?

   Sidney Oliver

This painting by Degas of Mary Cassatt blew me away. I love the use of white/off white behind her head. Pure genius. 

Recently I visited the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC and I saw plenty of well-executed pieces, however, the paintings that drew me in and made me want to rush to them were the paintings that were inspired such as the painting by Degas pictured above.

To my eye, J. M. W. Turner's early work was well-executed only. His later work was totally inspired. Check the two Turner paintings at the top of this post. The painting on the left was an earlier work by Turner and the painting on the right was a later work. No one can say the painting on the left is not well-executed. No one can say the painting on the right is not inspired. Same painter. Different subject. Which painting draws you in? I suspect the answer is the one with the action, with the movement.

There are plenty of paintings that are well-executed, but not inspired.

Skill is required for a painting to be well-executed and there are plenty of painters out there who are capable of painting a copy of what everyone sees with the naked eye. The trick is to take that skill and use it to translate that extra something from your imagination onto the canvas. Don't just mimic nature or the posed subject. As a painter, your mission should be to take chances with your imagination.

For instance, think of all of the children who have taken piano lessons for many years. They might be proficient, but they cannot rise to the next level as a concert pianist if they are not loose enough to allow their imagination to take over to produce something truly inspired and never heard before even with a piece we all know.

Stravinsky said to begin with technique and end with inspiration.

Artists need both technique and the ability to let loose and engage their imagination enough to become inspired.

The act of letting loose should not be forced or contrived. The trick is to allow oneself to relax and go with the flow.

Without trying to psychoanalyze here, it is fun to see the reaction of visitors to my studio during the Fall Art Tour. I hand over a palette knife with paints and I watch the guests have at it on a panel that may or may not be prepared with the beginning of a painting such as the one above. It's almost as if I can psychoanalyze the visitor by the way he tackles that task. Some are so fearful that they barely touch the panel. Some jump right in. Some try to smooth out the paint on the panel because they seem to have an issue with the raised and uneven bits. Some want the colors to become one color. If I know the person, it's fun to see if the painting style meshes with the personality. By watching, I can tell if the person has the capability of letting go enough to release his imagination that, supposedly, we all possess.

I've also seen paintings that look fantastic and then I look at another work by the same artist that looks equally as brilliant. By the third or fourth painting using the same palette with the same type of light, I realize that I am looking at a formula painter. That's an assembly line, folks. The painter has found a cash cow and, usually, he's fearful of venturing forth to try anything new. He WAS loose, found a niche, and stopped. His formula paintings are selling well, and, to my mind, he is thwarting his creativity.

Yes, technique and skill are required, but one should not stop there. Keep going. Keep pushing. Let loose. Let your imagination take over and become the dominant force. Put your well-honed technique on auto-pilot and let your imagination soar. This doesn't always work, but, man, it's a great feeling when it all comes together. 

In a nutshell:

1. Learn the skill. Learn as much as possible about the medium and what it takes to develop a well-executed painting.

2. Put that knowledge on the backburner, take off, and soar.

Above all,

Enjoy the process!

   Ruthie Windsor-Mann

This post is part of a series of Q & As between Ruthie Windsor-Mann and Sidney Oliver. 

We invite the reader to join in with other questions in the comments section. This needs to be interactive in order to work.

All photographs are by Ruthie Windsor-Mann unless otherwise credited.

Copyright 2019 Ruthie Windsor-Mann All Rights Reserved