My Experience With Embodiment

When I showed up on thursday morning to paint my models for the Embodiment human canvas show that is being put on by Native Lounge in downtown SLO, I was not sure what to expect. I had formulated a few ideas after selecting my models at the casting call, but, as a painter, I knew that ideas can only really be treated as a starting point, because once you begin, anything can happen. Painting on human beings, of course, throws in another element of inspiration, and I was prepared to evolve with what came next. What I did not expect was the incredible exchange, for lack of a better term, of energy between myself and my models. Dragging paint across another human being with a soft brush, focusing intently on the desire to connect with another body by allowing myself to read the skin, the personality, the shape of muscle and bone to transcend the realm of static art into something completely and totally alive. The way the paint would dry on a hair or over a scar all became part of my adoration for my models. Each line, each color, completely chosen by my own interpretation of their being. I felt intense amounts of boundless love for my models, not jaded by words or judgements, but as two people, artist and muse, forming that instant bond that has shaped art and design from the very beginning. And being in a room full of all of this electric energy, the banter of the models, the deep focus of the artists, was totally electrifying. I felt a deep love for humanity that day; the pleasure of beauty, adornment, comraderie and complete freedom of expression. As an artist, I felt the freedom to move with color inspired by the moment, and I witnessed the models absorb all of the deeply felt creative juices of their artists and become more than human, they became beauty itself.

*click on native's link to find out about the next Embodiment Shows. Photo courtesy of Joshua Jesse. Model Josh painted by Peter Worley.