PAINTING: Getting to the heART of why we do it
Reasons to paint are undeniable, universal, and instinctual. They’re about pleasure and survival. No matter where we come from and whether we paint as a hobby, for therapy, or professionally, three elements are significant, separately and together—the urge, the process, and the product.
The urge: That you just have to do it.
The process: It’s not always what you make that matters, but the making of it.
The product: The product is usually all most viewers see and are interested in.
Painting is:
• all-absorbing
• astonishing and surprising
• clarifying and illuminating
• energy-draining and -giving
• expressive and communicative
• hard work, fun, and fascinating
• passionate and sublime
• physical, emotional, and psychological
• relaxing and meditative
• sensual, serious, and philosophical
• time-consuming and purposeful
• wonderful, magical, and mysterious
Painting helps me to:
• achieve, realize, and interpret
• be adventuresome
• be surprised and delighted
• believe in myself, as well as "higher powers"
• block out pain or celebrate delight
• create positive surroundings
• feel alive and take chances
• feel fulfilled and enabled
• forget, remember, and be undersood/understand
• generate a sense of purpose and alternative realities
• get in touch with what I’m seeing, feeling, doing, and thinking
• see others smile
When we’re idealistic and sincere about painting’s possibilities and powers, it’s sad to hear about artists/artists’ creations being exploited. As I type this blog entry, a TV ad plays in the background: "Starving Artists’" sales will be held in Rochester and Buffalo this Sunday. Original "sofa size" works will sell for no more than $59, and smaller pieces for as little as $9 and $15 (less than the price of the materials from which they’re made).
