Carla Golembe, intuitive/intentional painting

Intuitive/Intentional : The Blending of a Painting Approach

Several months ago I began experimenting with Intuitive Painting, a process that involves putting down a lot of layers of color and mark making without planning or intention. With the intuitive approach the artist basically goes on gut instinct, allowing colors, marks and, eventually, images to emerge. Up until then my approach had been very planned out, creating several sketches until I got my composition exactly as I wanted it, planning the palette of each painting, though allowing the painting to change as it progressed. I was beginning to feel stuck with my process and feeling low on ideas and Intuitive painting seemed like a good way to move forward.

At first I was disoriented and kind of shocked by the approach and what was emerging on my canvas. To be sure, this kind of play with paint was a lot of fun but was this ME. How was I going to reconcile these random marks with my carefully constructed, though whimsical and stylized, paintings?

Then my inner muse took over. By that I mean the core of who I am as an artist. The mark making became multilayered underpainting, a freer and more complex type of underpainting than what I had worked with before. Once I built up very rich complex layers of colors I sketched my figures on top of these backgrounds with chalk. Some canvases suggested me ideas, other pieces came from images I wanted to explore. When my figures were in place I began to work with the interplay of image and background, under layers and over layers, taking away and adding in. In the paintings I've balanced the structure and figures I love to work with with the spontaneity of creating marks with tools other than brushes and allowing the backgrounds to evolve around the figures. I've started using more glazing technique to create depth and richness.

My new process is a blend of intention and intuition. It's not a radical change, just a way to move forward and have more fun. I've fallen in love with painting all over again.
Carla Golembe
Oct 22, 2014