Featured Artist Craig Trapp

Artist Craig Trapp blends a deep spirituality and philosophy in the creative state. Enjoy his portfolio, and visit his website to see more.

 

 

I am a California intuitive painter of abstract expressionism. Inspiration for most of my painting comes from my past, present and projected future experiences.

 

 

Current events from the world stage may also take their place in my paintings. Tsunamis, hurricanes, shuttle disasters, and 9-11 have all been subjects in my art. (Doesn’t every artist have a 9-11 painting?)

 

 

I had very little exposure to fine art in my youth. One specific memory has stayed with me since I was only seven years old. My newly-built elementary school in rural Pennsylvania had mounted fine art prints in the main hallway of the school. I had opportunity every day to observe these prints. I remember only one, Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Seeing this painting lit a smoldering fire in my brain. The painting didn’t look real, yet it looked almost too real! I didn’t begin painting until I was 38, but I never forgot this painting.

 

 

I began my study of philosophy around the same time I began painting. The two disciplines supported each other, aiding my desire to better understand our world, and my desire to express in painting what cannot be expressed easily in words.

 

 

I loved that abstraction allows the viewer to interpret in their own way, based on their own experiences. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was my entry into the world of philosophy. Pirsig led to Watts, then to Tolle, and eventually to Ken Wilber. This completely changed the direction and focus of my inner life.

 

 

Philosophy contributes to my art by teaching me about meditation and stillness. It allows my unconscious access to my Artist, uncluttered by the everyday stream of images and thought objects.

 

 

I can clear space for the intuition to thrive, making these my most creative painting sessions. I call these sessions of creativity “All Green Lights.” This means that I do not pause to consider my brushstrokes, but (like driving up to a green light) just keep going, never doubting the choices made. No filters. This is my creativity at its most bare and honest.

 

 

I paint on gessoed 300# Fabriano watercolor paper, stretched canvas and panels. My paints are Nova Color liquid acrylic and Holbein heavy acrylic. Regardless of the size of painting I am working on, my brushes are larger, generally ¾ inch to 2 inches in width. Rarely will I use a brush as small as ½ inch.

 

 

I work energetically, standing and moving about.  Often I play music while painting, but do not hear it while engaged in my work, the flow state blocking most external inputs. I am immersed in a sort of creative surrender, acting as conduit for the painting to emerge. I am not a particularly religious man, but I think of Hafiz, when he said “I am a hole in the flute that the Christ’s breath moves through. Listen to the music.”

 

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