5 - What Do Creative Writers and Artist's Have In Common?

 Estimated reading time: 20 minutes

5

What Do Creative Writers and Artist's Have In Common?

    An artist's journey of self-discovery implies they are learning who they are as an artist, what art means to them, and why they are attracted to a specific medium or genre over another. The journey is unique to every individual as their origin and personal impact in the arts differs for everyone.

Creative writers and artists are the free spirits in the world of creation. Their vivid imagination sparks ingenuity and thought-provoking ideas that are evident in their art. 

Before discovering their knack for the arts, creative writers and conventional artists must first experience and actively learn about the art medium or genre to decide which art form is best suited for them. Uniquely, some people are drawn to an art form from a very young age, while others experiment with different mediums to determine what they enjoy doing the most.

Some of the most important things that artists learn on their journey is how to use the tools and key elements to best implement in the art medium of their choice.

In this blog, we will observe and analyze the commonalities between creative writers and conventional artists and how they tell stories. We will also learn how to write a scene based on the painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper by incorporating Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) into our observations. 

What Is VTS?

Visual thinking Strategies are a method of learning that utilizes critical thinking skills, observation, and open-ended questioning. It is designed to aid viewers understanding of an art object.

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A creative writers tool box includes:

Creative writers: Depending on the tools a creative writer chooses to use, they will need a pencil, a pen, paper, or a device with a suitable text typing application.

A Conventional artists tool box includes:

Conventional artists: Physical tools and devices that are suitable for molding, sketching, painting, chiseling, and creating a work of art based on the artist’s medium of choice.

Digital artists: An electronic device and application suitable for sketching, drawing, and coloring a work of art based on the artist’s medium of choice.

Key Elements

The key elements required to create art vary by medium and genre, but the essence of each element remains the same. Here are some of the following key elements that creative writers and conventional artists have in common:

Imagination and creativity: Artists and creative writers utilize their imaginations to their advantage, employing their tools to bring their thoughts and ideas to life. Specific details of the art form are applied here.

Attention to detail: Attention to detail is one of many components in the art form that can make or break a creative writer or artist. The attention to detail implies meaning, provoking ideas and expression to the artwork or literary work. 

• Painters, for instance, can paint objects or colors onto the canvas to provide detail, which helps build the narrative.

• A creative writer's use of detail is crafted through their choice of words and language, giving the story depth and structure.

Point of view:  Artists construct meaning, interpretation, and creative expression through a point of view. The three most common points of view creative writers use are first, second, and third person. 

• A first-person narrative is told through the perspective of a single character. 

• The second personal narrative breaks the fourth wall, implying that the reader is the character in the novel. 

• The third-person narrative is told by a narrator who doesn’t influence the story or the characters' decisions. 

• In conventional art, the point of view can be in the second person, breaking the fourth wall and encouraging the audience to make their assumptions about the scene. Artwork can also be in the third person. 

Storytelling: To tell a meaningful, memorable, and provoking story, an artist and creative writer can incorporate all the key elements listed here. The depth and allure the creator wishes their story to possess can also reveal what the narrative means for the characters and the audience. The genre is implied here.

Interpretation and reflection: The interpretation of an art form is subjective and up to the audience to decipher and reflect upon. Creative writers and artists utilize imagery and details in specific areas to evoke meaning and reflection on the story, the characters, and, ultimately, themselves. Regardless of form, artwork ignites a personal journey through thought, emotion, and feelings. Art often hints at symbolism and metaphors to usher these reflections.

Creative expression: It refers to our thoughts, emotions, feelings, and sensations, including sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing, much like human nature.

Personal experience: Artists and creative writers draw on human experiences to enrich their creations. Experiences can occur in natural, cultural, and societal contexts. This is evident in their artwork, where characters and environment alike are well-represented. 

Audience: The audience refers to an individual, group, or community that will view and/or hear the artwork. The creator can also be considered part of the audience. Creative writers and artists create their work with the slightest to the most apparent intention of sharing it with others. The audience shapes the artwork, mimicking, decoding, and embodying it, thereby ushering in likeness and change among different communities and demographics.

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A Visual Interpretation

To illustrate the commonalities between creative writing and art, we will apply the key elements that creative writers and artists use to the painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

First, let's review the tools needed to complete this painting and those required to write.

Source: Nighthawks, 1942 by Edward Hopper

The Tools

Tools for painting: Oil on canvas, likely painted with brushes of numerous sizes. Oil paints of different colors were needed, as well as paintbrushes, and a canvas. 

Tools for writing: A writing utensil and paper or a device with a program for writing multiple paragraphs and pages. 

Key Elements

Imagination and creativity

    Painting

• We can assume that the artist envisioned this particular scene, including the time, which is reflected in the dark colors and the light source. Notice the place, location, name, colors, objects, and people. 

• The artist could have imagined the figure's mannerisms, how they are dressed, and even their placement. 

• The artist presents the audience with a view of the demographic scene and the characters' wealth, as indicated by their clothing and mannerisms.

    Creative Writing

• A writer imagines the location, time, place, names, objects, and people. 

• They will have a more rounded idea of the location, where the building is situated, what the characters look like, their backgrounds, and mannerisms. 

• A writer knows the whole picture before the audience does and includes subtle hints as the story progresses.

Attention to detail

    Painting

• Most of the detail is attentive to the diner, Phillies. Even the name of the restaurant is a detail in itself. 

• The light within the diner acts as a spotlight that cannot be ignored as it cascades into the dark, empty street. The impression that it is night implies that the light source is moonlight. 

• Adjacent to the diner are other stores, as indicated by the cash register. 

• There are four figures in the painting, each spaced apart, except for the couple in the back. 

• The striking contrast of the figure's clothing not only blends with the color scheme of the painting but hints at their material statues. In turn, the material statues imply the clientèle the restaurant caters to. 

• The door to the diner is out of frame, except the one in the back. The triangular shape of the building matches that of the counter - the exit possibly out of frame. 

• The two canisters on the counter are half-filled with two different-colored liquids. On the counter are napkin holders, salt and pepper shakers, along with glass and mugs. 

• Out of the seven-round stools next to the window, one is occupied. Closest to the window is a faceless man, his back turned toward the audience. Beside him is a plate of food. 

• The point of view indicates that the painting is in the third person.

    Creative Writing

• Using descriptive language to describe the scene, a writer can provide details of what the narrator is seeing beyond the diner, such as telling the time by showing how the light source cascades into the street. 

• Or a writer can describe what it feels like to be in the scene using the narrator's senses or thoughts. Then, they could draw attention to the diner, the light, and the characters, as well as what they are doing, thinking, saying, etc. 

• The point of view indicates that the narrator is in the third person.

Point of View

    Painting

• Seen from a third-person perspective, the silent observer is situated on the street outside the diner. They do not alter or affect the scene or the figures. 

• We, as the audience, do not see the observer, nor do we know who they are or why they are in the street. As the only viewer of the scene, the audience must trust their perspective and ponder on the silent story unfolding before us. 

• In her blog, Narrative Point of View in Visual Art, Glassman (2015) writes, “Everything is planned and crafted around you…but without knowledge that you are there to see it…This is third person storytelling, and, just like it is in common literature, so it is also most common in visual art” (par. 2, lines 1-5). 

    Creative Writing

• If the scene were told from a third-person perspective, the narrator would describe the scene without affecting the environment or the figures.

• Because the narrator is an entity that does not affect the story, they can oversee how the characters feel or think without needing to witness their body language. In essence, a third-person narrator is an entity with a higher perspective.

Storytelling

    Painting

• Given the amount of detail portrayed in the painting, the audience can decipher the story with visual thinking strategies (VTS). 

• We, as the audience, can safely assume the observer is in a rural area, particularly a city. 

• A clue of the area is the lack of figures, providing evidence that most people are at home. 

• The figures' casual attire and body language could indicate their affiliation with each other, meaning the couple in the back are well acquainted.

• The lone man with his back toward us is eating late at night, but why he is alone is up to the audience to guess. 

• The waiter is actively grabbing something beneath the counter, putting him at eye level with the rest of the figures. He and the man in front of him appear to be conversing. 

• The figures' clothing indicates the period and their material status, thus providing more evidence of their rural background. Each figure tells a unique story. 

• The title, Nighthawks, indicates who the figures and the unseen observer are - people who prowl in the night, possibly looking for an escape in the undead city. What do you think?

    Creative Writing

• As writers, we do not typically employ visual thinking strategies (VTS), but as storytellers, we utilize similar tactics, such as brainstorming plot, theme, setting, characters, conflict, and resolution. 

• Despite the stillness in the painting, we can think of a realistic (or fantastical) plot by using the scene as our focus. Think of where the scene is located, the time, and what the observer was doing before and after they witnessed the diner. 

• As for a theme, what message is the painting trying to convey to its audience? The setting indicates the scene's location and time. Does the story take place in the past, present, or future? Who are the characters, what is their back story, and why are they important in this story? 

• Perspective or point of view is essential here as it provides evidence of believability and structure to the story. 

• The conflict in the story piggybacks on the point of view and the character's involvement in the story, shaping the direction the narrative takes. 

• Resolution occurs when the conflict has been rectified, and the reason for the character's journey is laid to rest. 

Interpretation and reflection

    Painting

• Paintings and literature alike provide symbolism and metaphors. In paintings, they are silent, but the way the imagery is portrayed can evoke a sound. The audience's interpretation and reflection on the painting are subjective and unique to each individual. 

• As an audience, we can observe how the figures ‘feel’ through body language and placement, encouraging us to interpret and reflect on their thoughts and reasons for being out so late. 

• The time depicted in the painting could also prompt a deeper reflection on how the figures feel, or how we, the audience, feel, by observing the striking contrast between light and dark or life and death. 

• The triangular shape of the building, the counter, and the lack of doors are symbolic in themselves. 

• Despite the door that could lead anywhere, it suggests that the figures are not entirely trapped, as their body language indicates.

    Creative Writing

• Most writers incorporate symbolism and metaphors into their stories, which provide imagery and evoke emotions, placing the audience directly into the character's point of view.

• How the metaphor or symbolism is worded guides the reader through the story, aiding in our understanding of the narrative.

Creative expression

    Painting

• The entirety of the painting, including its color scheme, brush strokes, viewpoint, details, and vivid storytelling, is a form of creative expression.

• Through the figures in the diner, we can infer their emotions by observing their body language and facial expressions. 

• The light in the building is welcoming, although it contrasts with the figure's body language. 

• We can imagine what the restaurant feels like inside, what it smells like, and what the figures are saying if anything. 

    Creative Writing

• The use of language describes the creative expression, bringing the audience up close and center with the story as it progresses.

• The writer can freely imply what the characters are feeling in their environment and how it differs between the lit diner and the dark, empty street. 

• Using descriptive words to convey how characters feel, act, or think adds depth to the story.

• Incorporating a specific voice provides a tone and method of expression. A voice can be serious, comedic, mysterious, romantic, or any other tone. 

Personal experience

    Painting

• Given how life-like the painting appears, we can ponder the idea that the artist saw this scene unfold before them. 

• It is also possible the artist heard about a similar scene and painted it. Could this scene be a memory or a depiction of the future? 

• Is it possible that the artist was one of the figures in the painting? This makes the scene mysterious, leaving it up to the audience to decipher.

    Creative Writing

• Many creative writers, regardless of genre, incorporate their own experiences or those of others into their stories, making them more relatable and believable, even if the narrative is fantastical

Audience

    Painting

• We can infer that the characters' attire, color scheme, and the specificity and mystery the artist has painted into this scene suggest that it was intended for a specific period.

• Looking at when the painting was completed provides a hint to the audience. 

• Could lower-middle class or future audiences relate to this painting? 

    Creative Writing

• Much like artists, writers must consider their audience. Why is this audience the focus?

• Is the writer targeting a specific age group and demographic, and is the content relatable to future generations?

    After reading this blog, we now understand the similarities between creative writers and conventional artists, as well as the tools and key elements needed to create an original work of art. We also know how to observe and analyze an art object, such as a painting, and how to incorporate that into a written narrative.

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“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.” — Kurt Vonnegut

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Using your VTS skills, observe and analyze Nighthawks or another art object. Identify the necessary tools and key elements, and then write a brief narrative.