Communication, expression or both?

Whether the result of our creative energy is a song, a poem or a painting, it is a vehicle to communicate a thought, an idea, an experience or an emotion. Is it important that the viewer, or audience, experiences the painting in the same way that the artist experienced it? Perhaps, if the artist's intention was to communicate a specific idea or emotion. When the content of the work evolves during the creative process, as it does in my paintings, the viewer is invited to experience the work in a personal manner that might differ greatly from the experience of the artist.
After many years of trying to figure out what it was that I wanted to share with the world through my paintings, I realized that my intent was simply to help the viewer open the door to her own thoughts, memories, feelings and creative energy. I do not wish to impose subject matter. The dilema is that most viewers need to be able to identify something, a shape, a form, a familiar object, in order to become engaged in the painting. It took a long time for me to understand and accept this and ultimately to find a way to balance subject matter and my own creative process. Once I was able to understand the rules of the game I was able to let go of my resistance to subject matter and allow it to be an element in my painting. It no longer matters whether it is a figure, a bowl of fruit or a forest of birch trees. The painting evolves in its own way; the subject is only the key that unlocks the creative energy.

Image: Adirondack Birch Trees No.1
Watercolor Painting by Chris Carter