Art of Strangeness.

Some people would tell you I've been practicing the art of strangeness most of my life.  :)

Actually when it comes to fine art, I mostly like to draw and paint straight-forward subjects like dogs and cats, in bright colours.  Those are the images I like to have on my walls and that make me happy.

There was a time, though, when I lived next door to a lovely Art Therapist called Despina Weston.  She ran group sessions in 'painting from the subconscious,' and I went along.  After a few courses, I really loosened up and got going. If you ever need to free up your art, I would recommend getting into this style of painting.

I bought big tubs of kids' poster paint, which is bright, layers well, and is non toxic so you can get it all over you. (Which I did!)  I used large sheets of newsprint taped to the wall of Despina's studio, and went to town.  I would start by just painting whatever colour or shapes I liked.

And then, slowly, something would begin to appear out of the colours, and a work of art would happen.

They were not cute and cuddly. They were often scary.

Despite the sometimes unsettling results, it was so great to be standing up and moving while making art.   I don't think I've ever had so much fun making art before or since.

At times, one small work would need to grow, so I would just add more paper and away I'd go again.

Mysterious futuristic person...

 
...moves and turns...

... and becomes a demon-fighter...

 

who needs wings...

Die demon die!

Sometimes they became faces of mysterious scariness...

Green man?

Or mythical presence...

King Arthur riding out of the arena of social expectation

And once, I think I painted a very wise and mysterious being indeed.

I wonder who he or she is?

I'd almost forgotten these works until our recent tidy-up revealed a sleeve full of photos.  The works themselves, apart from King Arthur up there, were too large to keep anywhere and are long gone.  I'm glad they were photographed, though!

If you've ever wanted to make art but been too scared to try, I recommend a group like this one, where process is the goal and the final result is purely incidental. While playing, I learned a lot about layering and colour-use that I have often applied since then.