The mindfulness of art

portrait of Tony Riemensnider
Pencil on paper

I've been drawing and painting portraits for upwards of 45 years, both as an art teacher, and as a portrait artist.  And I've come to see how creating art overlaps beautifully with the practice of mindfulness.

Art often requires a "top- down" type of concentration to get started- blocking out time and other distractions, and focusing on the project fully. But almost always, a more intentional focus turns into moments of flow, where a sense of time or struggle ceases and there is the joy of creation.  Drawing portraits  requires lots of energy and concentration- but a concentration of a wider kind, taking in lots of what is going on- both without,  in the outer world, and within. 

This summer I drew a  portrait of my good friend and colleague Lisa Skildum. We worked live (instead of from a photo), and had to work in a poorly lit hallway, because my classroom was stifling.  Besides my drawing, we chatted on about many things. And, since my intention is to practice mindful speech, I also had to have awareness of what I was saying- or about to say- which added to the many things I had to be conscious of. And while a rich, flowing conversation can be hard to sustain while drawing, it can add to the knowledge of my sitter. 

This kind of intense work requires lots of pausing and reflecting, and with portraiture especially, there can be some anxiety. Thoughts like, Oh my gosh, this is bad, or, I'll never get this area right, are common. And the pressure- usually self-generated- to create a flattering image is often palpable. I want my sitter to like the picture.  My practice  reminds me to be with my emotions, to be present in the middle of the heat, and not give up. 

The key in those moments- just like in mindfulness practice- is to come back to my  task. In this case, it is seeing what is in front of me, and putting it down as faithfully as I can. I try to let go of all the other chatter, the worries about how it will come out  and just draw. I can also take some breaths, pause and relax. 

Like mindfulness, drawing can be a radical type of inquiry into what is right in front of us.  I often tell my students that we can all see (assuming our eyes are OK), but an artist is trained to see more- more color, more shape.... more accurate proportions, etc. 

In the same way, we all have some amount of awareness- or mindfulness- or we couldn't do anything. But with mindfulness training, we can be aware of much more, much more of the time. 

(Is this what Jesus meant  when he is quoted as saying, "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?")

And then there is the matter of art.

With a portrait, it's impossible to fully "copy" reality. Choices have to be made because the eye sees so much more than we can render. And this is where the creativity really comes in. How much to simplify? What to leave in or take out? 

Asian artists are famous for their elegant and simple renderings of natural forms- while Western artists are known for their attention to visual detail. 

In mindful practice, no matter how clear the instructions are or how good the teacher is, there comes a point when one has to work with the practice by oneself, figuring out the details of how to integrate it into your life,  moment by  moment. And in the heat of the creative act it is very similar -  just you and your canvas (or paper, or wood,  or clay)... and you have to make those decisions, one mark at a time. 

It helps, also, to trust- that your higher power, or higher intelligence, knows a thing or two too.