What is the nature of exploration and experimentation? Does it count as exploring if it’s something you want to do and feel happy doing? Or is the only real sort of exploration necessarily accompanied by fear of outcome (and we’re leaving life threatening stuff out of this debate) and fear of the journey?
I am fearful of cliche in art even though it amuses me in writing. So today peering at a coral reef through the windows of an underwater boat and at tropical fish through the display windows of an aquarium, I was reluctant to pick up the brush because I felt overwhelmed by potential cliche.
In the end, after some trite watercolours and too much blind contour drawing, I painted something inspired by the nocturnal Jellyfish chamber. I think it has possibilities.