Art and, briefly, inspiration

glossing provided the following prompt: How about visual art? Do you have a favorite artist/school/whatever, or are you more textually inclined?

Well, the secret that you may not know is that once upon a time, way back when I was an undergrad at USCB, I contemplated a double major in Art History. So, I love art. I don't have the most academic, snooty, I know better than thou kind of appreciation for art, but I do have an appreciation. Every painting tells a story through medium, techique, lighting and symbols. You can read it if you have the key.

( Judith and The Magdalene among others )

Up next -- moireach asked about a day in my life. OMG!

The original post for requests is here.

A little of this and a little of that -- wrap up's and meta

Today, as I was thinking about yesterday's post about my interests in art, I realized that there is a connection between the style of art that I like and the style of my writing. Comments on my use of imagery are typically the most common inclusions as it concerns feedback. I am a visual person and I am a speed reader. When I read, I don't see the words on the page so much as I see a movie playing. So, I tend to remember things in series of images more than anything else, unless some bit of prose is just especially stunning. lostakasha and redbrickrose are writers who do a phenomenal job of combining language and visuals. I see the action, fall in love with the images, but at the same time have an insane, jealous appreciation for their execution.

Translating what I see onto paper is how I write. I do my best to describe what I see as approximately as possible, so I can be hyper-critical about word choice. Squat insted of sat, crimson instead of red, things like that. Because what I want is to ignite a sense memory for the reader. Art translates the same to me. Artists use medium and technique to convey an idea. My favorite art periods (High Renaissance - Baroque; Modern Pin-up) do that almost to excess. They are lush, and I like to think, with a few exceptions, of course, that my writing tends towards lushness (admittedly heading into epic purpleness). Recently, I've been practicing things down, writing more bare bones and deliberate.

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There's also a discussion currently ongoing at BetterBuffyFics that concerns Buffy's bitchiness. Basically, it's a discussion on Buffy's evolution from innocent to bitch, as it's read by some fans. I always read her evolution as her growing up, I never did get the bitch thing at all. drsquidlove posted a response that was both an acknowledgement and a defense of the character that I totally agree with. It is too simplistic to write Buffy off as bitchy and I think that Dr. Squidlove does a great job of acknowledging the flaws and complexities of a character who was flawed and complex like a real person. I've re-posted the comment with drsquidlove's permission.

I think Buffy always had that self-absorbed streak: it was always intended
to be the inherent flaw in her character. Yeah, she could be generous like
she was with Amy, but she could also treat Giles like furniture and ignore
her friends when she was wrapped up in Angel. It's part of what I liked
about her character. She wasn't too happy about Kendra threatening her
specialness in s2, until Kendra came to help save Angel, so it made perfect
sense that Faith would be a problem, even without the personality clash.

The scene where Faith shows up and they all talk in the Bronze beautifully
plants the seeds of that season. Faith's trying desperately to strike up a
friendship with Buffy, while the rest of the scoobies steamroller right over
all her questions to ask their own, while Buffy sits in the corner feeling
forgotten. Particularly in the context of her age, I don't blame her one bit
for resenting Faith. Sometimes she's jealous and petty, which is very
Buffy, and sometimes she goes out of her way to reach out, which is also
very Buffy.

I agree she gets colder in the later seasons, but Joss couldn't have put her
through all the trauma he did and kept her as bubbly as she was
sophomore year. I think that would have been a cop-out.

( Semi-Kinda Ingenue to Bitch: The Evolution of Buffy Summers )