To be an artist is to see things differently. To see colour and form and line everywhere you go, to notice whether colours jar, to see depth of field, pattern and composition in nature, in people, in buildings. To an artist even shapes can be pleasing, even exciting, colour can impact on how you view your surroundings. It isn't just a matter of noticing things, but of being always aware of sensation, of seeing wonder in seemingly unimportant places, to see beauty in the juxtaposition of two colours that sing.
From a young age, I seemed to notice things that others barely saw. My senses were always heightened it seems but I was always looking. Beauty is often fleeting, and I feel is mostly drawn from nature itself. It can be about a small patch of grass with a patch of warm light glowing and pulsating. Suddenly the light changes, and the moment is gone. Twenty people could be looking at that same patch of grass and only some of them will see the beauty there.
From a young age, I seemed to notice things that others barely saw. My senses were always heightened it seems but I was always looking. Beauty is often fleeting, and I feel is mostly drawn from nature itself. It can be about a small patch of grass with a patch of warm light glowing and pulsating. Suddenly the light changes, and the moment is gone. Twenty people could be looking at that same patch of grass and only some of them will see the beauty there.
Whilst the skills of drawing and painting can be taught or learned through experience, I do wonder whether that artistic sensibility is something that is purely innate, something we are born with, or whether it is something that develops.
I found this wonderful quote from one of my favourite artists, Vanessa Bell 'Learn to look and the rest will take care of itself. Do not be afraid, if you want to be artists, of being a little mad.'
Comments
Post a Comment