What Moves You?

I haven't blogged about caretaking for a while.  This blog is, after all, about living a creative life and my caretaking is about me personally.  But art is life, isn't it? I mean we draw from our experiences to make our art.

Some of the best art has a great story behind it. Pain, suffering, grief, sorrow, joy and love have produced some very powerful work that connects with others. It's when we can convey these powerful emotions through our art that it speaks to others.

I've always struggled with this concept. When I was younger I only liked "happy little paintings"!  (Remember Bob Ross-I guess that was "happy little accidents")  I didn't like my art to be dark or depressing. I liked comedies and upbeat music. I'm still like that. I like to surround myself with the positive. But through the years I've grown to appreciate the back stories of artists and the experiences they drew on to create. I'm not saying the only way to make great art is to live a tortured miserable life!  Great works are not all created in the depths of despair, but many are. The work that moves me, speaks to me somehow. It connects on some level. 

Some of the best advice I've ever been given was by Mary Whyte at a workshop I attended. She spends time with each student alone and talks about their work. When I sat down with her she told me I needed to connect with what moved me and use that in my work. That when I did that my work would take on the quality I was missing?  The connection. I pondered that for a long time, not really sure what it meant exactly. I felt I had been painting what moved me. So what was I missing.  I looked over all my work and realized it was painted for others. For a viewer. I painted for the viewer first, making sure I used good technique and correct values, etc. As I thought about what moved me personally, and what I really enjoyed painting, I realized it really isn't that hard. I am moved by the evening light that hits the lawn and makes it glow. I am moved by a child laughing. A bird in flight. A dandelion. I am moved by not just the grand or beautiful things, but also by the small ordinary miracles we gloss over so easily. 

So this is what I paint now. I look for what moves me. You can always find something, even in the most boring still life, that speaks to you. Look for that. And for what moves you in the everyday. Connect with your feelings and find some way to say what you need to say.  

So here is a quick sketch of my dad. This is my everyday. (I worked on it too long and lost some of the freshness and a lot of his likeness, but it is what it is). It doesn't say anything except---here we are again today.  And aren't we lucky we are?  That moves me.