For the past five days of my journey, I’ve immersed myself in the world of Mark Rothko’s color field paintings.
When we look to other artists for inspiration, it’s never about copying. Instead, their work serves as a springboard for our own exploration. It’s a starting point, a direction to lean into. I know it can feel intimidating or even “wrong” to use another artist as a reference, but I truly believe that if a piece of art resonates with you, there is a lesson hidden within it specifically for you to learn.
Day 1: The Beauty of the “Fail”
My first attempts were nothing like I imagined. The colors felt off, and the fields lacked the depth I was chasing. It was discouraging. My first instinct? To stop the experiment right then and there. But I decided to stay with the discomfort.
Day 2-3: Embracing Transparency
By the second day, I began working in multiple thin layers. I used matte medium to make the paint more translucent, allowing the history of the print to breathe through. I also started blurring the edges with my fingers, trying to mimic those soft, organic transitions that make Rothko’s work so ethereal.
Day 4: Breaking the Rules
I took a sharp turn. Instead of Rothko’s thin veils, I loaded my Gelli Plate with a generous amount of paint. By pulling multiple impressions from one application, I discovered the “true gold” of the process: Ghost Prints. They had a softness and texture I could never have planned.
Day 5: Layers of the Seen and Unseen
Rothko taught me the beauty of letting the underlayers shine through—but I realized this didn’t have to happen through “color fields” alone. I started scraping back paint to reveal what was beneath. I combined this with charcoal drawings—sometimes with my eyes wide open, sometimes closed. This practice of blind drawing gave me a profound glimpse into my own visible and invisible creative layers.
My Key Takeaways:
- Inspiration is a Tool: If an artist moves you, use their work as a mentor.
- Transparency is Depth: Layers reveal the hidden stories within your work.
- Ghost Prints are Gold: Often, the most beautiful results happen when the plate is almost empty.
- Trust the Inner Voice: Follow your intuition; it knows the way even when your eyes are closed.
Deepen Your Practice
If you’d like to explore my approach further, I invite you to download my free guide, „Staying, Time, and Direction“. It includes a template for daily reflection—a tool that has been incredibly transformative for my own artistic path.