An Artist's Tool

The use of scissors is usually to cut but I tend to use the scissors differently, for editing and creating. Both of these create happiness in my life. I'm a landscape photographer who loves capturing the beauty of nature, once captured I have to use a "scissors" tool to edit the photo, removing man-made objects, photobombers, and even those objects that weren't seen in the beginning. I also use the tool to cut out the surroundings so the focus can be more on a specific scene instead of the great big outdoors.

I then take the new photos, display them on social media and sell them on my website at www.nbphotoart.net. The happiness I feel every time I sell a piece of photo art goes beyond words. I'm filled with a tingling feeling that makes the time, effort, and energy worth it. I love filling my days traveling around the state, exploring new areas, and capturing images that are untouched by man. To be surrounded by peace and calm with the sounds of nature around you, I know instantly that I am home.

But I take it even a little further. My artist abilities are always up for a new challenge, a new way of expressing myself. I found happiness in the form of painting, paint pouring to be specific. My paintings are done on canvas paper and then stretched and secured to wooden stretchers. Sometimes the canvas isn't a perfect fit and I have to trim the edges with scissors to get a more precise and tight fit.

The beauty of paint pour art is how easily it can be manipulated, not only from moving the canvas around so that it moves freely across the canvas but also things you can pull through it. Like a pair of scissors!

In the photo, I used scissors to pull through the wet paint creating a lightning-like image. I had never done it before and am pleased with how well it turned out. Painting can be frustrating, more so than photography. Photography is all about standing in the right spot and, thanks to digital cameras, you can view the photo and change your position to get the capture just the way you want it. Painting, not so much.

When it comes to paint pour you only get one shot on a canvas to make it look good and if it doesn't, you have to either wait for it to dry to paint over; which takes several hours. Or you can throw it away, too much manipulation and it looks like a blob. Now there are artists out there who say there is no such thing as a "bad painting", especially when it comes to paint pour. I disagree. But I'm also a perfectionist and want that "perfect image" right away.

To read all of this has to have you wonder, then why do it? It can't bring you happiness if you react like this to a bad outcome. Did you read the part about a perfectionist? What I love most about it, is the focus and calm that comes with every single paint pour painting I create. It's about manipulation, staying in control, and being focused to get that perfect image to come out.

There's also an understanding of myself, that mistakes happen, but there is nothing that can't be fixed or forgotten. It's almost hypnotic to watch the paint swirl around on the canvas, then manipulating it with a tool that will highlight the colors that might be hidden beneath. These paintings are currently being given to people on my Patreon page who become members, a small token of my appreciation for supporting the work that I do. www.nbphotoart.net.

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