Painting is Work
OBRES - Barcelona street rubbing
My grandmother gave me a book called Oriental Brushwork by Wang Chi-Yuan. One of the chapters is simply titled Painting is Work. I love this thought. Just ponder over it. Painting is work.
I recently took a class that went to Barcelona to study Catalan art. Early one morning, a small group of us tromped through the city until our instructor led us to a spot where we made texture rubbings of the streets using ink or pencil. After a few interesting attempts, I saw some Spanish words and went over part of one with my pencil. The outcome was the word OBRES. I had no idea what it meant until our instructor said, “that means work” (it is derived from the word obra which means work).
I’ve hung this street rubbing in my studio, and when I feel tired or distracted, just remember - painting is work. Not some great divine mallet that is going to bonk you in the head and fill you with super human inspiration to paint nothing but masterpieces (artists don’t make that decision anyway).
Painting is practice. It is patience. It is thought. It is letting go of thoughts. It is being quiet. It is work.