“The Creation of Torrit Smoke” follows painter, and Trader Joe’s employee, Blakely Dadson as he sets out to create a new painting. The film follows along as Dadson spends his free time working on the canvas, and explaining as he goes, why he’s making the choices he’s making. The end painting is powerful, and the journey to get there is equally so.
“The Creation of Torrit Smoke” isn’t a particularly new idea, focusing on an artist as they work on their latest project. Cinema is full of these in the realms of music and filmmaking, but this is the first time it ever really felt like I was brought in on the full mind-process of the artist. It helps that Dadson talks all the time, and it helps that he’s very aware of what he’s thinking and feeling when he makes a brush stroke. It’s less of a nebulous “and then the image formed from the random colors” and more of a “I really wanted to convey this feeling, so I went with this idea and… it didn’t work.” I liked knowing that the artist wasn’t talking about the painting entirely in magical terms, but was very cognizant of how his contributions or omissions shaped the final piece, for good or bad. It was refreshing to see a wrong turn (or four).
If you’re an artist, or are interested in how an artistic person thinks, this short film is on-the-money and worth watching. It’s insightful and entertaining, and it rattles awake that inner artist that might be resting in you right now.
You can watch the full 30 minute version here – http://vimeo.com/14428358