I, who grew up in a Yekke family (Jew of German origin), am aware of how important order is, or as they used to say at home: "Order should be". I've always liked enter neat houses. Immediately I feel like I'm inside a magazine. And I am envy.
I am envy because at our home today you can always find discarded shoes at the entrance, and when the children were younger there were also school bags, things on the table... It is obvious that I don't live alone.
Clutter creates a feeling of discomfort and restlessness. Since it is less predictable, it leaves us in a kind of constant tension. Need to adapt and react all the time. Tiring...
Order, on the other hand, makes me feel good. I am confident. peaceful.
But it doesn't end here. Back to the shoes: years ago, I quitted the game, realizing that for the sake of home peace, I rather let go of it. And it works.
I enjoy the full house, and adapt to the mess. I discovered that even though I am fond of order, somehow life itself lies in the mess. I realized that order, with all its goodness, if it is the only focus - can also threaten (I'm thinking of military order for example).
I feel that in painting too. There, I take the mess to the extreme. I love the feeling of the liveliness that comes from wild, fluid, splattering paint applications.
But just as in life I don't like only order, in painting I don't like only mess.
I like when there are areas of silence in a painting, sharp lines that convey order, clear shapes, a pattern. All of these, for me, creates order and calm.
Like everything in life, one probably needs both, needs the balance. How do you do that? That is a personal matter. In my case this balance varies from one field of interest to the other.