Yana Fenech, designer at Valentino Architects, lists parallels between creative processes through the experience of her own painting practice.

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Intuitive Lines
As with the starting point for an architectural project, paintings often begin their life in sketchbooks. They unfold as pictures translated from the mind to the page, the process of execution becoming a delicate link between one state and another – captured only once pen hits paper. When it does, whether in sketching for a painting or for a building, there is a moment of letting loose, with mind and hand both giving way to the compositional boldness of the line.

Brief Constraints
Whether designing a building or composing a painting, the user or viewer is always kept in the line of sight during the making process. In both cases, beginning with a mental carte blanche appears to at first pose the greatest potential for innovation. Yet in both cases, the introduction of brief constraints brings about an equally compelling opportunity for creativity. Whether the parameters tie to budget, timelines, or size with an architectural project, or dimensions, subject and colour with a painting, they impose new challenges to the making process, yielding results that may challenge conventions of style or creative rationale.

The Offer of Beauty
Once the lines have formed on the page and the puzzle of any given creative project has been reconciled by both mind and hand, the greatest objective is to offer ever changing versions of beauty. Whether paper, pen, charcoal, or paint, the aim for the creative process’ final product to meaningfully connect with its audience is a universal one.