Claire Jo Harmer, Contemporary Landscape Painter Based in South Devon

Some say that as you consider a painting, piece of music or other creative works you get the sense whether the artist truly connected with the art they were making or if they were simply going through the motions to complete the work. When I look back at paintings I most connected with in the making phase, I can certainly see the energy, the spontaneity and the heart in the marks, the colours, the soul of the piece.

Painting intuitively is an exciting and. at times, scary process. I need to let go of inhibitions, of expectations and trust myself. This doesn’t mean there’s no planning or ‘work’ involved. Some of my paintings have been steadily forming in my mind for months or even years (even DECADES) before the first marks are made on any surface. For me, the intuition is the faith I have in my own decision making in the creative ‘moment’, the willingness to converse with the canvas. Not just talking to it…although that can happen…but in responding to each mark with another, a back and forth of looking, considering and placing.

I look. I photograph. I sketch. I sketch some more. I contemplate. I set aside. I come back. I make a decision….to begin and THEN the intuition kicks in, and when it REALLY kicks in… the art comes to life.

Painting from the heart