Keeping it Simple

I completed another painting and feel I am onto something. A few days ago I was thinking about living my life in such a way that my 12 year old self could understand what I was doing and why I was doing it. There is a part of me that thinks of future me, and how present me needs to take care of that future person. But I was also thinking how I should live my life in such a way that it is consistent across everything from family, to friends, to work, and yes, to art. All of those things should consist of the same truth. And that truth, that level of goodness should fully extend to earning the respect of that 12 year old. I was a super hero at 12 skipping trees, getting into brawls, dealing comic books, and raising hell. We put away childish things as adults, but we also set aside that superhero that would try anything, that was unafraid of the world.

This painting represents the superhero vehicle of a child. I could have conjured up the entire world with this thing and now, as an adult, I ask so much. As we chase after the world, we lose who we are. The world is right here. 

Art as Fulfillment

Art: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

Why produce a piece of art? Why invest time and energy into attempting to produce a thing of beauty or elicit an emotion? It's definitely something difficult to explain and is likely unexplainable. Why does a person wake up one morning and decide to paint a vase of flowers? I have the feeling every person wants to express themselves in some way, but most do not answer that call. Most will set it aside and focus on their day without ever listening to that voice. Watching TV or having a glass of wine becomes the focus because they are the easy thing to do. Creating art is difficult, challenging, frustrating, but ultimately rewarding. The most difficult things are the most rewarding while those that require no effort, require no training have the least meaning. How difficult is it to sit and watch a movie or binge watch a series on Netflix? We waste our lives one click at a time. 

And then there are those that answer the call of art and try to produce something of quality, something of beauty. What is the difference between those two people: the producer and the consumer? One continues and allows their individual voice to die while the other listens and responds to the desire to produce something unique, meaningful. Meaningful to whom? Since it's difficult to understand what might be meaningful to others, the artist must produce art that is meaningful to the artist. The beauty of art comes from originality, from what the artist sees and wishes to represent. All art is not equal. The intention of the artist is important, but falls far below the execution, the quality of a piece. Children have intentions when they produce a piece of art, but they don't have the ability to execute. An adult can work to execute a piece while learning how to use the tools needed to deliver their vision. 

What is art besides the definition that started this entry? It is the delivery of an artist's vision via the tools that artist has chosen to master. Vision is fine, but the mastery of the tools is what separates a poorly executed piece from a masterpiece. A work that requires no mastery is the work of a child. 

Joan of Arc - Jules Bastien-Lepage