ABSTRACT
This chapter examines so-called oceanic feelings in painting. In short, these are feelings of self-boundary dissolution and fusion with one’s paintings-in-progress. The first part of the chapter elaborates on the basic experiential features, generative mechanisms, and potential value of such feelings in light of ongoing theoretical debates on the topic. It also suggests that oceanic experiences are inextricably bound up with the core existential concerns of intermixing subjective and objective realities and of demarcating between self and not-self. The second part of the chapter analyzes oceanic feelings specifically in the context of painting. It argues that oceanic experience may support and enhance painting in two crucial ways. On the one hand, it incorporates a mode of undifferentiated perception that can be used to manage the complexity of artistic creativity and to advance novel symbol formation. Second, oceanic feelings typically come with various positive secondary affects that may serve to protect, vitalize, and guide the creative process. It is suggested that, for these reasons, many painters come to regard oceanic states as highly valuable to their creative work.
