Being an artist is not easy; it doesn't usually pay well, and people are constantly critiquing your work. As an artist I have struggled, and I have had my doubts, but I also know that being an artist is important. This article will help you look at art in a way that is worldlier; it will also help you to realize that being an artist is an important function, and it will help you to better understand your relationship with art.
"Art when really understood is the province of every human being. It is simply a question of doing things, anything, well." (Henri, 1923, p.11) I feel this is a great and true statement, and I believe that this is an important fact that most people do not realize. Over the course of my life I have had many jobs, and I have constantly compared them to art because that is how I see and understand things, and I realize that everything in life is art if treated as such. Anyone can be an artist whether they work with a knife, a lab coat, or a paint brush, and the world needs artists of all kinds to evolve and survive.
I have over the years struggled with the thought of being a professional artist; it is something I have always wanted but, I never believed could happen. I have often shrugged off the idea of my art and not taken it seriously although it is the one thing I have always loved. I have come to realize that the world needs artists because the artist is not "trying to close the book, he opens it, shows there are still more pages possible" (Henri, 1923, p.11). Without artist there would not be any inventions. Artists spur creation, and they cause possibilities to become realities. The artists make the world interesting and beautiful, and through artists things change and are achieved.
Painting from memory can be a very challenging task, but it can also help you understand your relation ship with art better. "I think it is safe to say that the kind of seeing and the kind of thinking done by one who works with the model always before him is entirely different from the kind of seeing and thinking done by one who is about to lose the presence of the model and will have to continue his work from the knowledge he gained in the intimate presence" (Henri, 1923, p.25). I think this observation is important because I believe that having a model always there may let you take things for granted, where as, having the model taken away makes you train yourself to capture the details and it helps you put that special part of yourself into the painting. I appreciate the term "intimate presence" because I feel art is like an exchange between the artist and the outer world; the finished piece is the solidification of this communication. It is like a dance between to seasoned lovers that has been painfully and joyfully recorded on canvas.
Anyone can be an artist, but I suggest that the art student know all the theory of the great artists of the past because this will help you create your own (Henri, 1923). I believe with all subject matter this is important because you must have a strong foundation to be able to move forward successfully. No matter what form of art you partake in it is important to know the background in order to not create the same mistakes. It is important to know the past because this will help you strengthen your relationship with your art.
References:
Henri, R. (1923). The Art spirit. New York, NY: Basic Books
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