Today I painted a rough colour study to Christ In The Garden Of Gethsemane, one of my two major paintings planned in 2008 for execution this year. As with all of my paintings almost every element has a source image to copy from, but there will be room for flair and fantasy. Snr. Dali said that fantasy was the enemy (meaning that every element in a painting should have a source image to copy from) but he was incorrect, stating that when already entrammelled by his "realism", disastrously sacrificed for truth; adding prettiness and ease at the expense of meaning. Fantasy is essential if the truth calls for it. Dreams are not photo realistic. Such vagueness can be planned however, and it is important that plans are plans. An idea can be overworked more easily than a painting. An inexperienced painter tends to overwork a painting while an experienced painter tends to overwork the concept. The latter is worse.
