Paul Klee

"Art does not reproduce the visible, rather, it makes visible."

— Paul Klee

Swiss Painter

1879 - 1940

Commentary:

Art does not simply copy the physical world in which we inhabit.  Whether the person is an abstract painter or a realistic painter, each painter must transform the world and make it visible to us.  The same is true of the writer.  Even the novelist with the most realistic dialogue has altered the world so that we can better understand it.  Painting or stories that simply duplicate the visible world fail to inspire us.  They must somehow make the real world more visible to us.

What is your creative vision of the world in which you live?  How does your artistic vision alter the world?  What do you bring to the table that changes the way we see?

Creative Practice:
Write down your artistic vision.  Be sure to write for a minimum of 15 minutes.  Keep writing until you have said everything you can think to say.  Don't try to be perfect or creative.  Don't worry about grammar or spelling.  Simply write and until you have nothing more to say.  If you have nothing to say, keep writing the same thing over and over until something comes.  Start with the phrase, "I see ...."  When you run into a roadblock, start over with "I see..."

About the Painter:
Klee's father was a German music teacher and his mother was a Swiss singer.  Although he was born in Switzerland, he is considered both a Swiss and German painter.  Early in his life, Klee studied music at the encouragement of his parents.  He was very talented on the violin, but chose to become a painter during his teenage years.  He studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.  He married a pianist and fathered one child.  In 1910 Klee had his first solo exhibition in Bern.  His artistic breakthrough came in 1914 when he visited Tunisia and was impressed by the quality of light.  He wrote, "Color has taken possession of me; no longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me forever... Color and I are one.  I am a painter."

Paintings:

Red Balloon
1922
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
New York

Flower Myth (1918)
Sprengel Museum
Hannover, Germany

Fire in the Evening
1929
Museum of Modern Art

Quote Source: Clint Brown, Artist to Artist, p. 11.

Paul Klee

"Nothing can be rushed.  It must grow, it should grow of itself . . ."

— Paul Klee

Swiss Painter

1879 -1940

The creative process cannot be rushed or forced.  It must evolve at its own rate.  Sometimes it moves slowly and other times with the speed of light.  And the creative process cannot be managed or controlled.  It has a mind of its own.  You cannot flip a switch and suddenly be creative.  Some writers and artists have rituals they hope will invoke the creative muse to  visit them, but the rituals usually don't work.  Deadlines will not pressure the creative muse to appear.  And neither will procrastination.  The creative process takes its own sweet time.  Some take drugs hoping to break down the walls and release the imprisoned muse.  They are deluded.  

So what can we do?  Work.  And work some more.  Work when you feel creative.  Work when you feel terrible.  The key is to keep working even if what you produce is worthless.  The creative muse demands it.

Paul Klee

"Color possesses me.  I don't have to pursue it.  It will possess me always.  I know it.  That is the meaning of this happy hour: color and I are one.  I am a painter."

— Paul Klee

Swiss Artist

1879 -1940

Writers paint with words.  Painters write with color.  Are you possessed by your art?  Are you driven to create?  Are you one with the words that you use to write your poems, your stories and your novels?  Do you go to sleep with colors dancing in your head?  Do you hear the voices of your characters?  Can you taste the lives of the people you paint?