semi-related:
https://www.eecis.udel.edu/~wood/courses/320/pending/VISION.htm
>During those good times when the artist feels the 'flow' of the creative impulse, and the painting seems to paint itself - what is happening? Two things: first, the painting has been envisioned complete in its 'unpacked' form, a completed image, so to speak; secondly, the painting has been executed in accordance with this vision, without 'unpacking' it, which is to say, without analysing it. More precisely, the vision has been given a physical form. The first part is a process of vision, the second part is a process of execution, and although they may be approached as separate problems, it is through understanding how the two interrelate, that the finished work retains the freshness and vitality of the original vision. This becomes obvious if one observes art students in class: the first blocking in of the image on the canvas, the outline and tonal blocking are vigorous; as the work progresses layer by layer, it slowly dies, until, by the end of the class, all that remains is a dull, forced picture.
>If the artist's intention is intellectual or decorative, then he will produce an intellectual or a decorative painting, no matter what the subject.