The way of the stars
Oil on board, 60.7 x 48.5 cm
© Juan Bielsa
I remember when I painted "The way of the stars". Some paintings are the result of a sort of magic. I painted this work like dancing. There was no conscious effort, no struggle. Just the forms appeared naturally. I did not make any correction. In one day the painting was done, like emerging from the land of rhythm.
For me the most important part of making art is mental preparation, meditation, playing mentally with colors, silence. If we have the necessary skills and techniques, when inspiration comes, we are ready to undertake the process of "materialising" Spirit into forms. I do believe in hard work, but the same I do believe in inspiration. The best of my poems have been done in this way. In ancient China the best painters had a similar approach into art. They produced in this way immortal paintings; there is Spirit on them. And it is the same in Zen.
Juan Bielsa
