A Process of Art Planning Creation by Portia Po Chapman Kingston Artist
We all have our own method and strategy to create our art pieces. For me, I start with 2 things:
1/ An idea notebook that I enter flashes of visions, ideas, concepts, and sketches of possible cool things to do in the future. I also include inspiration quotes and sometimes reflections about my experiences. I keep sheets of paper on my bedside table to record dreams too. When one idea doesn’t float at one point, it may in the future.
The following image was eventually painted in 2022 as a mural for Queen’s University’s Kingston Hall Reflection Room but I first created it in 2018 for my 3rd year BFAH class and it was rejected by the professor because the prof said that, “It looks like something you’d paint in your garage.” The thing is, it was the beginnings of my current art style and landed me several commissions when I finally finished it outside the course.
“My Creation” mural took 4 years before it was commissioned and mounted. It began with a simple sketch and grew for years. The mural was created because the ASUS executive adored the original digital image and had been awaiting the chance to have it painted. This is often how commissions work. The organic growth and development of art concepts can take many turns until it reaches its destination. I still find the journey amazing.
“My Creation” Mural in Kingston
2022
“My Creation” Mural Complete in My Studio
2022
“My Creation” Mural Size Planning
(we chose square)
2021
“My Creation” Published as Cover Image
(the cover is more intense the photo is faded)
2019
“My Creation” Digital Journal Cover Proposal
2018
“My Creation” Began as a Sketch and Then I Painted
a Trial Image Which was Rejected by My Prof
2018
2/ The second thing I do for art creation is take photos or have photos of me in the environment. I like to catch a moment – the nuances of life that happen in a moment in time. The following digital image is a current idea that I am working on as I consider the painting medium and final expression. The piece is entitled, “My Drum and Me.”
“My Drum and Me” Digital Draft for Painting Planning
2023
“My Drum and Me” Stone Lithograph Art Print
2018
“My Drum and Me” Hand Drawing Lithographic Stone
2018
“My Drum and Me” Original Photo
A Family Member Took this Photo When I Was Drumming Outside
2017
Again as one can see, a beautiful moment in time captured by a photo and/or inspiration notes and drawings can lead to some really beautiful art pieces in the future. If anything, their journey materializes as life takes its own twists and turns. An art concept never gets old, it simply waits for its time to shine, but as it waits, the inspiration weaves itself through one’s career and the creation of other pieces. Art is not created in a vacuum – it lives and breathes through us as artists and art enthusiasts. Art is alive, even as it awaits its birth.
Love Art by Po 