Art Adventures - by Patricia Banks©
Published June 2017 in Nanaimo Magazine and Voyager Magazine
Published June 2017 in Nanaimo Magazine and Voyager Magazine
Life is change, that is certain! Each of us are often presented with opportunities to begin a new chapter or adventure in our lives. While change can be scary, it can also mean positive personal growth and development. Change enables us to review our beliefs and values and to evaluate the path we have chosen to travel. It helps us to stay in touch with ourselves and our needs and to learn new skills.
Change is constant for most artists. It requires ongoing learning and sometimes bravery. Courage is useful when wanting to express ideas openly, unafraid of criticism or failure. It would be wonderful to have the adoration of a cheering crowd in the studio background, but watching paint dry is not very exciting for most fans. So, it is on presentation of the creation that the artist requires valor. An artist shares experiences, feelings, and thoughts through their art work, whatever creative endeavor that may be. I share these things through my paintings and writing.
I have often stated that painting is my soul work. In this way, art is a journey of change. It involves continuous exploration, interpretation, and evaluation of a variety of notions and ideas on an infinite number of subjects. Although an artist’s ability to communicate what he/she understands, feels, or thinks about a subject requires skill, it also requires the ability to accept change. Nothing stays the same for very long. This is particularly evident when painting outdoors with fleeting light and moving shadows, or trying to capture a rose in full bloom before it wilts. W. Somerset Maughan once said that “Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his/her soul.”
When an artist makes a statement, or tells a story through their artwork it has the power to inspire change in the viewer. It can motivate the viewer to create new adventures for themselves. Art can be life changing, that is certain!
Change is constant for most artists. It requires ongoing learning and sometimes bravery. Courage is useful when wanting to express ideas openly, unafraid of criticism or failure. It would be wonderful to have the adoration of a cheering crowd in the studio background, but watching paint dry is not very exciting for most fans. So, it is on presentation of the creation that the artist requires valor. An artist shares experiences, feelings, and thoughts through their art work, whatever creative endeavor that may be. I share these things through my paintings and writing.
I have often stated that painting is my soul work. In this way, art is a journey of change. It involves continuous exploration, interpretation, and evaluation of a variety of notions and ideas on an infinite number of subjects. Although an artist’s ability to communicate what he/she understands, feels, or thinks about a subject requires skill, it also requires the ability to accept change. Nothing stays the same for very long. This is particularly evident when painting outdoors with fleeting light and moving shadows, or trying to capture a rose in full bloom before it wilts. W. Somerset Maughan once said that “Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his/her soul.”
When an artist makes a statement, or tells a story through their artwork it has the power to inspire change in the viewer. It can motivate the viewer to create new adventures for themselves. Art can be life changing, that is certain!
