revelatorART: A Window Into My Creative Process Painting in Studio

As I entered my studio today I thought you might like a bit of an opportunity to look in and see the process of how I create a large painting. I took some photos and some videos while I created today and thought I'd share them with you here.

My brushes.

Like a chef's knives, they are my tools-an extension of me. I take them with me whenever I travel so that I will be ready to paint whenever the opportunity, and I have my favorites with me-the ones I love and know how they'll work for various needs.

Also present:

Palate knives. Texture tools. Spray Water Bottle. Mod Podge (Matte Medium). Charcoals. Chalk Pastels. Graphite Pencils. Sharpee Markers.

Acrylic Paints.

I create mixed media paintings. Acrylic is one of the main kinds of paints that I use. I like to store my colors in tupperware containers (and I will spray them with water so I can keep them wet for extended periods of time).

Latex House Paints.

This is one of my favorite mediums to utilize. Its' viscosity is brilliant for splatter painting, but I also like to use it just as I would acrylic paints. Most of these cans were donated to me by people getting rid of house paints that were taking up space in their garages. I love paint donations!

Here's a view of about half of my studio (the half that I utilize to do most of the painting). Today I was working on a 3foot by 3 foot gallery wrapped box canvas on my easel.

After I've gotten everything set up I like to put on some music that will inspire the particular painting I'm working on. For this painting I was listening to Housefires song Build My Life.

Quick back story to this painting...

A couple of years ago a friend of mine encouraged me to begin work on a series of paintings that have been turning about in my head for years. I've wanted to paint a series on the Book of Revelation from the Bible. Now I know that the Biblical Book of Revelation has heaps of controversy around it (causing centuries of debates, judgments, arguments, schisms, and instilling fear in many throughout Christendom). It's been the subject of all various theological viewpoints over the ages about the end of time where graphs, charts, outlines, art, and movies have been made to try and explain all the apocalyptic imagery and meaning.

So you're probably wondering why I want to tackle such a task as to create paintings based on the Book of Revelation.

Though many artists have tried, I didn't want to paint some kind of artistic theological interpretation of the Book (as I am not a Biblical scholar and I really have no desire to figure it all out...and personally I don't think it's meant to be figured out, but that's my opinion). Call me a crazy artist...but I'm all about the love...and in my opinion I think it's full of creative imagery (showing the creativity of God) and mystery (I like that I can't figure out what's going on...I like that about God, that I can't figure Him out) that ultimately points to the Love of God for all creation and I find the book to be fascinating and quite exciting actually, so I wanted to create an abstract expressionist artist's response to each chapter.

The following photos and videos are a progression of the painting process...

I first worked on the painting within my computer (I often work on painting concepts this way). This process can take a few hours or several days depending upon what I'm working on. This is a computer mock up that I made as a concept image for the painting I wanted to create as a response to Revelation Chapter 2. The image you see is not meant to be the exact painting I would create...in fact, it can't be because the colorful background is from an image I found on-line (and I don't want to copy another artist's painting). But the combination of the lots of research on the subject matter I'm wanting to paint and express, the colorful background (or backgrounds---sometimes I find several images and layer them on top of each other to create a very unique textured background image), a realistic image that I create in the computer to print out and paste on which helps to pull the painting together (in this case a smooth white rock), and my own flavor of abstract expressionist painting techniques and strokes allows for inspiration to how I want the painting to feel and what colors I might like to utilize.

The first layers of latex house paints in colorful large brush strokes and watery drips.

The next layers of charcoal outlining.

More layers painting in detail within the charcoal lines with latex house paints and acrylic paints.

More definition.

And then once I knew that the background was where it needed to be I glued on the paper image of the smooth white rock to complete the painting.

The final painting.

As you can see it is a little bit like the computer mock up in structure and some of the colors and shapes, but actually it's quite different all together. Artistic inspiration and license within the moment along with collaborating with the paints and mediums, canvas and tools, the research and thought processing, and listening in on the conversation that God is having with me as I paint...it all allows for the painting to evolve and come to life as it needs to.

rev #2

c. 2018 Lisa Marten

3ftx3ft mixed media on canvas

$954

artist statement

This painting is an abstract expressionist artist's response (not a theological interpretation) to Revelation Chapter 2.

Revelation 2:17 says....”whoever has ears let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give that person a white stone with a new name written on it known only to the one who receives it.”

I didn't plan on the background to be a kind of abstract tree...but it as the hours moved along the tree began to form...and so I went with it instead of forcing what I originally had planned (which would've been just an abstract background of shapes and color)...and this is what it turned out to be. I actually think that intuitively it fits PERFECTLY with the concept that Chapter 2 is made up of letters written to churches...and churches are people...and people make up the Body of Christ...and the Body of Christ is like a living breathing tree (a family tree) that each of us gets the opportunity to be a part of if we choose. We really are a part of something that is so much bigger than we are on our own. And we can be grafted into that tree. There is a white stone with a new name for us (He is making all things new)...and who we are is an important part of it all.

So that is my response to Revelation 2.

It joins the other 8 paintings I've created in the series.

There are 22 Chapters...so I have a few more to do!