Capturing the Moment

It’s the special moments in our lives that help make us who we are.

Impressionists are in love with such times.

To capture a moment, one must be captivated by the ordinary, and when the great ‘yes’ is revealed, it is as if all of one’s senses, materials, and the method become one in the moment.

To the experienced Impressionist, this isn’t luck; it’s work. To capture such a moment often, one must train for it as an athlete. Experience is the best guide to ever-changing expectations.

The immediacy of the moment captured is the trademark of the Impressionist painter. To capture your moment, you must be available to receive it. To capture what is fleeting, one must work rapidly yet with a level of precision.

This requires a shorthand technique – a painterly morse code - a brushwork of dots and dashes. They will become part of your signature brushstrokes.  A candid composition with a play of light through expressive colors is the hallmark of an Impressionist’s work.

To capture the moment, we first must recognize that moments are fragile things. Yet the inspired moments are not. It’s interesting that we are unable to save time; we can only use it. And moments exist in them. Inspired moments are transcendent; they remind us of the play of time and eternity. Some artists craft works of art that are so poignant that the image lives in the hearts and minds of the viewers long after.

Perhaps the secret to capturing moments as an impressionist is not to pursue but to be pursued.

One thing is for sure time changes temporal things. Therefore, moments are best captured through inspiration. 

Impressionists paint from their sensations. This awareness is an advantage. It allows one to use their five senses and the operations of the soul – intellect and will. This is a heightened sense of awareness.  What makes you smile and calls you to respond with, “I have to paint that!”

The Afterimage Exercise

✓     First, look at the image then close your eyes and try to see it in your mind.

✓     Second, look again at the image and pick out whatever is most interesting. Close your eyes again and see it in your mind, feed it into your heart.

✓     Third, open and close your eyes several time to see and compare both the reality and in your imagination (which is just as real) an after image.

✓     Fourth, put the reference away, then draw or paint it immediately or soon after.

You will now have a mental impression.  This helps to create those illuminated memories.