A blank canvas has unlimited possibilities.
- Stephanie Perkins
As far as I can remember, I’ve always had an affinity for visual arts. In marketing – I always find the time to do the graphic design for campaign creatives. In my travels – photography is part and parcel of why I appreciate it the most. With painting – since it takes more time, effort, and dedication, I have finally found the calling on being one. Here are my 7 reasons why I love being an artist.
1. The Light and Shadows
When I was 5 years old, I melted my crayons as I wanted to replicate the different hues of greens by the nearby tree. Their hues brighten with the sun and deepen with the absence of it.
Years later, I realized that this is one of the reasons why I loved painting. A single canvas must have shadows, must have light to balance each other. Otherwise, there will be no depth to pull you further. Depths to interest you to linger. Depths that invite you to appreciate it further. The lighter shades make it more uplifting. The shadows make it more intriguing. At the end of the day, art is a replica of life. Filled with light and darkness.
2. The Movement
I never realized this until the Director in Arts, Letters & Numbers during my residency remarked on it. Painting is a form of dance. You can’t paint standing still. There is a movement behind it that’s beautiful. After that, I was more conscious that I do move a lot when painting. I can’t paint sitting down – I have to be standing up, with a specific song on repeat, and subconsciously move to the beat of my palette knife. No wonder why it is so exhilarating and exhausting when am almost done. Not only am I painting my heart and head off, am painting with my whole being as well.
3. The Process
The creative process for me is always intoxicating. I always get a rush when am in the concept creation stage. Working in marketing for years has not faded this but instead intensified it.
Unlike any creative process – the difference in painting is there’s a mystery in the outcome. It’s like cooking without a recipe – you have a general idea of what you want but the finished art is never exactly how you expected it to be.
Nevertheless, I love it. From that moment when a little spark fills my head on where a specific painting series should go, to the actual creating stage of painting, to finally looking at the finished artwork. There is comfort in the ritual knowing that if you put in the time and effort – what you have envisioned in your mind will materialize in front of you.
Once those are done - the next bit, I may not love so much. However, I do appreciate and learn to love the learnings from it. Sharing with the world what you have done can be unnerving, frightening, and takes a lot of grit.
Art is very personal at the end of the day. It is your story and your creation rolled into one. People at times tend to ruin things. Sometimes it is safer to close yourself. To keep yourself and your creations away from judging eyes. However, the act of sharing helps you to open up. Open yourself to criticism so that you can be better. Open yourself to be appreciated which makes you yearn to create more. Open yourself so that others can be inspired by what you can accomplish and strive to do the same with whatever passion they have. Finding the courage to share my works is one of the reasons why I love being an artist.
4. The Concept of Duality
One hour of a studio visit with the Director of Arts Letters and Numbers, where I did my art residency for the first time, has taught me so much about what artist I was or wanted to be. In my all paintings, he noted that there is always a presence of duality.
First, my paintings are always accompanied by poetry. Second, in all of my paintings, the emphasis on light and shadow is always stressed. Third, when painting, I am standing in the periphery of two time periods. One - standing where I am at that moment while painting. Two - floating somewhere in the globe to the memory of where I was. Ephemeral and eternal in one moment. Past and present in one breath. I paint from memory, you see.
Having understood that now, I fully embrace it. I used to think I paint from memories of light but now I create from the concept of duality.
5. The Community
Quoting that song by Nelly Furtado “I have lived so many lives but am not old”. Taking the plunge from corporate to the art world was a complete antithesis. Corporate is corporate. As much as I can, I used to put colors in what I wear but still, I had to reign a bit. The people are more restrained when at work, the way of life is more structured, the expectations are clearly stated. In art – it’s different. You can be whatever you want to be, wherever you want to be, or simply just be. Everyone will understand – because you are an artist. And they are the same. Everyone walks to the beat of their own drum. Still wherever you go, if you are lucky - you will experience a glimpse of what you have left behind. Like hospitality, people in the art community are very welcoming, supportive, and filled with colorful characters.
6. The Stories
Art is full of stories. It’s a way of life.
Each artist must go through a journey. Without these experiences – we will not embrace a life that is rarely financially secure but filled with personal passion.
Each piece created has a story behind it. A love tale, a family, a mystery, a sacrifice – each artwork tells a story.
There’s always a history, an inspiration, or oodles of adventure behind each flick of a palette knife or a stroke of a brush. The colors represent a spectrum of emotions. The canvas is an instrument to convey our creations to the world. Everyone loves a story at the end of the day. The world is made of stories.
7. The Medium
Simply limitless. Let your imagination fly. The sky is your limit when it comes to your art medium. The more outlandish it is, the more unique it comes - the better to choose it.
Your medium is the vessel that carries your message.
I chose oil on canvas as impressionism paintings have always moved me. The works of Van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin, and Kincade - all speak to me.
One of the artists I met in a residency chooses medium as food. I was so taken aback. I have always thought visual art can be limited to canvas, paper, or clay - but now I know, you cannot put a limit on one's imagination. And that is what it means to be an artist - having the chance to imagine to your heart's content and not let anything deter you. And your preferred choice of medium is one of the ways to let that imagination run free.
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