William Baziotes

"Each painting has its own way of evolving . . . When the painting is finished, the subject reveals itself."

— William Baziotes

American Painter

1912 - 1963

I know this is the way a poem happens for me.  I don't know what the poem is about until I'm finished writing.  The poem evolves as I write.  I know there are writers who outline everything they do.  They know what they are going to write every step of the way.  For me, it does not work.  I like not knowing.  The excitement is in the writing.  The same thing happens when I write a story.  Only at the end do I know what I was writing about.

Cyclops

(1947)

My drawing of masks is the same way.  I never know what a mask will look like until I am finished.  Art for me is also about discovery.  The joy is in the process of creation.  The joy is in not knowing where you are going.  

When I travel I am the same way.  I want to discover new places.  My wife and I once were on a trip with another couple.  They had everything planned down to the minute and became upset if we deviated from the plan because it put them behind schedule.  I can't travel that way.  The joy is in the discovery.

One of the things I have learned over the years is that writers have many different ways of working.  What works for one person does not work for another.  How do you work?  Do you map out your story in advance of writing it?  Do you know what your painting will look like before you start painting it?

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