Joy and Tribulations and Art
6/28/2020 6:24:35 AMMaking art can be fun. It can be relaxing, enjoyable, engaging and satisfying. One gains a sense of accomplishment along with pride in a self-made product that will endure and possibly be a meaningful gift you can give. But it can also be exhausting while invigorating, and one of the greatest challenges ever. How can that be?
If you are enjoying painting as a hobby, it is a gift. Enjoying the process of laying color, illustrating what you see, bringing memories to light, or just enjoy pursuing creative endeavors, then plain and simply, making art is a delight. It is a huge enrichment to your life. Just pure joy. Anyone who engages in any of the arts receives countless gifts.
It is a joy and gift that school budgets often cut from out children's lives, erroneously robbing them in the process of a route that helps them understand themselves and teaches them how to find contentment... topic for future posts. But, if you want to read further on your own, check out classic books by John Dewey and Ellen Dissanayake, and many other writings on the role of art in society.
If you are painting professionally or endeavoring to face a different kind of challenge, making art (for sake of this blog post, painting) is a trial. And people on that track are often surprised when they find they are tired, even exhausted, after painting or taking a workshop. You are not alone but rather have a huge peer group, know them or not.
Every artist I know finds it exhausting. Painting in the pursuit of improvement is constant problem solving. Yes, it is also invigorating for it is the joy of finding something close to your heart which implies an immediate sense of elation. And the next step may be akin to putting together a puzzle. There are direct steps to follow in the laying of an image, but…here begins the problem solving and at times mental anguish, particularly given the freedoms that exist in todays world. This is where the real work begins.
And then there are other variables (such as plein air versus studio painting). But that too is for another post. So I leave you with a smile and hope you continue to enjoy the gift of art and for those who want to go beyond, the challenge.










