Horizons Beyond: Mountains, Mirrors and the Essence of Space
Last month, I reflected on the balance between intuition and intention in my creative process. This exploration has taken shape in my first three paintings, where spontaneity is supported by structure, and instinct is accompanied by awareness.
Having Aphantasia, I cannot visualize images in my mind. Instead, my creative process is rooted in sensing and feeling, allowing intuition to guide me. The paintings are not planned; they emerge as I respond to the essence of the mountains I traveled through in Scotland—capturing freedom, space, solitude, and the horizons beyond the horizon.
There is a cyclical connection between my inner landscape and the places I am drawn to. My inner search for freedom and solitude leads me to landscapes that reflect those emotions, and in turn, the essence of those landscapes amplifies and mirrors my inner world.
The connection between my paintings and the landscapes runs deep. These works are a reflection of my feelings while traveling through the remote areas of Scotland, where the interplay between self and place shapes every mark, creating a dialogue.
Reacting intuitively to the marks I made and stopping regularly to feel the progress of the work made it possible to finish as soon as I felt the essence was expressed.
Below are some of the photographs taken during my time in Scotland. These scenes, with their rugged textures, various levels of contrast, and serene reflections, inspired the emotions and energy that shaped my paintings.
The landscape and my inner world are inseparable. Each amplifies the other, creating a continuous circle of reflection and expression—a process of feeling, interpreting, and creating that is deeply intuitive, while still loosely holding my intention like a guiding star.
This process worked much better than I had anticipated. It allowed me to trust and follow my intuition while holding the landscape’s essence in mind and thus achieving balance between intuition and intention.
This is just the beginning of a larger project where I hope to expand into multiple ways of expressing my feelings about space and place, whether internal or external.
What do you see in these pieces? Do they resonate with you in any way?