Notes to Myself on Beginning a Painting
By Richard Diebenkorn, American Painter, 1922-1993
- Attempt what is not certain. Certainty may or may not come later. It may then be a valuable delusion.
- The pretty, initial position which falls short of completeness is not to be valued—except a stimulus for further moves.
- Do search. But in order to find other than what is searched for.
- Use and respond to the initial fresh qualities but consider them absolutely expendable.
- Don’t “discover” a subject—of any kind.
- Somehow, don’t be bored—but if you must, use it in action. Use its destructive potential.
- Mistakes can’t be erased but they move you from your present position.
- Keep thinking about Pollyanna.
- Tolerate chaos.
- Be careful only in a perverse way
(Note from Jeremy Sutton about the notes from Richard Deibenkorn—I find these notes good food for thought in approaching a painting. I have to admit numbers 5 and 8 still have me stumped... I am interested to hear your own interpretation of those...)
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