Story and Storytelling

Artists need context...significance...they need to know their place in the story. Why do I create?

The desire to create needs vision to fuel it...it is so much more than just a talent...a gift...but that gift combines with a life chock full of experiences...combines with a person wired to express themselves in a way that is unique...never been seen before and never to be seen again. And all that converges to form the creative expression of their art. It truly becomes a window to the soul of the artist.

And that is the conundrum...we cannot create in a vacuum...we cannot divorce ourselves...our desire...the vision that is etched into our design from our art. The art is meant to be the expression of the life with all its complexities, nuances and idiosyncrasies...and so it draws us into the journey...and begins to reveal the longings and desires of our heart as we embrace the process.

Every now and then I read an art magazine...kind of just flick through it...to see if something catches my eye. The glossy brochure...the art holidays...the leisure painter...I understand...it's the presentation of the lifestyle...the romantic cruise. So where did I miss it...because my journey's been more like the stormy Atlantic interspersed with dry times and doldrums. Art searches you...it asks the questions...do you want superficial relationship...or do you want to create from the core...from the heart...where you truly find significance...your place in the story.

You see, learning the mechanics is not enough. Deep down we crave authentic connection...and when creativity is separated from our heart we start to wither...we go through form and ritual and dry up. Being true to yourself in the expression has to be cultivated...and that is not just becoming skilled in the mechanics of painting, but it's embracing the design built into you, and making room to cultivate that unique expression.

And so art becomes a journey of self-discovery...it reveals the story...how I'm wired...and it reveals the way of telling that story or how to give authentic expression to that design. And in that journey there will be times when we are on the crest of a wave...breakthroughs, light bulb moments that turn the page to the next chapter. And there will also be dry times...doldrums where creativity is dormant within...because the journey is now requiring us to take a new path in our creative expression.

And that must always be the case...we cannot stagnate...we embrace the journey as we embrace the story and the telling of it. It is always unfolding, always revealing, and always wanting to give us so much more than we can imagine.