Thoughts on Art
I have read a number of articles focused on techniques and ways of motivating yourself to practice art. My perspective is a little different. Making the art is less a chore than an inspiration in my life. Yes, I have slumps when I wonder if my subjects are worth (at minimum) forty hours of work. But, something I learned a few years ago keeps me going. It was at an exhibition of the impressionists at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. I drove in a 200-mile circuit (in one day) to pick up my mother in Oakland, take her to the museum, wait in a long line, study the paintings, return my mother to her apartment, and drive back to Monterey County.
I made the trek because Édouard Manet's The Fifer was on display. I learned two things that day that I think about whenever doubts consume me. Staring at one of the most famous little boys in art history, I realized Manet had painted minute hairs on the surface of the boy's shoes so they appear to be made of velvet. Standing ten feet away from the painting, they still looked like velvet. It was as if Manet was speaking directly to me saying, "no detail is unworthy of your attention." I leaned in so close I'm sure DNA from my breath was deposited on the painting (my apologies to the Musée d'Orsay).
The other idea that stuck is that you are not painting an object, you are painting a moment. A point in the life of a wave, a sunset, a flower, or the life of a little boy. You can't see your subject as just some mundane prop. The lowliest object, even trash, is made beautiful by the artist who thinks "I can breathe life into this painting by capturing a moment in time." This is my focus when I choose an image. I ask myself, "what is unique to this subject that no other painter has captured?" And, "How can I make this sing." I don't have the skill or knowledge of Manet but I strive to create the sensation that I have captured that moment.
An interesting note: the prints, postcards, and books in the museums eliminate those exquisite hairs on The Fifer's velvet shoes, perhaps to discourage forgers. If you can, go see them in person. It is a moment not to be missed.