Playing With Fire Print

As children we are told what not to do.  Don’t touch that, it’s hot.  Don’t eat that, it’s dirty.  Don’t swallow your gum, don’t play with matches.  Don’t run with scissors. Yet we did everything we were told not to do because we wanted to know why we shouldn't do these things.  So we found out what ‘hot’ is, what dirt tastes like, what happened when we swallowed our chewing gum, and the consequences of playing with matches.  But somehow we knew the consequences of running with scissors and usually didn’t try that one out. In the art world, often we are told that we shouldn’t paint with acrylics because oils are better.  In photography, we should use film instead of digital cameras.  Often artists are admonished that we should stick to the tried and true methods.  To a certain point this is true;  one must walk before he or she can run.  The basics of  composition, technique and color are important in creating art in all forms. At some point the artist must take a creative leap and forget the rules; run with scissors this time and see what happens. I like to twist the composition, play with color and try out new ways of creating images.