I spent a little time last night touring Clive Barker’s artwork online. This happened because I follow Jo Leigh on Twitter, and she follows Clive Barker. I love Clive Barker’s writing, so I said, "aha, wonder what he’s up to" and went off to visit his website. Which is where I discovered that in addition to writing amazingly detailed worlds, he also paints them.
His artwork is fantastic in the truest sense of the word, and well worth taking some time to enjoy. I went through images, and read the stories behind the stories; how one painting made him look at what was really important in the picture, and then write about that.
It’s always interesting to see how somebody else’s creative process works, and how painting and writing can work together. I’ve never tried to join my visual art with writing, but living here is making me think about it. I wake up in the morning and see my easel. I remember being told my painting had a storytelling style (which amazed me because I didn’t think I had any style), and I am wondering if painting visuals will help me write about them, or see what stands out. Since I’m at an experimental stage, it’s a good time to experiment.
I know that learning to paint made me look at things differently, and that learning that a painting in process is supposed to be messy made me look at first drafts differently. It stands to reason that painting a scene or subject or character from a story will make me see things differently in the writing, too.
Have you ever tried combining writing with another art form? If not, it might be fun to try. And if you have no interest in it whatsoever, it’s still very cool to see Clive B’s rendering of Pinhead versus the movie.
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