“There fore art means: you have to believe, to have faith, that is, cultivate vision.” (Josef Albers) from The Painter’s Keys
Artistic vision likely does not have a cookie-cutter formula that can be written in a textbook and taught by lecture in a classroom. Artistic vision is as unique as the artist making the artwork. If each vision is unique, are there any guidelines an artist can follow? We all get off track at times, so how do we get back?
Author Thomas Cotterill in his blog states: “No matter what the artist thinks about vision, it is vital that they remain true to their own ideas.” When those inevitable times come when an artist feels the vision is lost it is imperative to examine what exactly the lost vision was. What were the points that drew the artist to the original vision? What were the emotions, the colors, the shapes, and the tastes of the vision? In that dry vision deprived place, returning to the beginning may be the best first step. Once taken, the first step can lead to what the original second step was, and third.
For some vision may have been a choice they consciously made as they began to paint. Others may have had a gradually evolving vision over time. In either case, returning to the starting point allows an artist the opportunity to remember the excitement of how the vision first felt and perhaps reignite that spark. There was a reason you chose that particular vision. Refresh, recall, and relight that fire.
For more on what other artists say about artistic vision, artist Barbara Rachko has complied a series of quotes on her blog here.