Yesterday was a good day. I mean, a really good day. This, coming from a man who knows the meaning of the term.
Immersed in my work, I was intoxicated. Mind you, I don’t drink or medicate (except for Damitol, which I sometimes take to counter other people’s abuse of Imbecillan). Art creation involves it’s own flavor and kind of natural high. Do not tell politicians, they’ll regulate it as a ‘gateway passion’.
Prior, I hadn’t recognized this as a core of good art. I should have.
First time I noticed the powerful intoxication of art was in portrait sketches. I’d ask questions and they’d answer about people that inspired them, accomplishments they were pleased with, or memories they treasured. An envelope would form with only the subject and me inside. The subject transformed, becoming niether old nor young. The sense of ‘stranger’ (it was always someone previously unknown to me) fled entirely, replaced by a kinship bond.
Upon the delivery of the sketch into their hands, the envelope dissolved and we went back to our lives.
I loved that envelope.
Yesterday I was in that familiar envelope alone almost all day long and late into the night.
This morning I realize that this akin-to-spiritual experience is a normal part of the creative process. When I paint a landscape, I see the most beautiful place anywhere. While rendering a particular car, it is the singularly most glorious machine of all. So this has been happening all along, but before yesterday I only noticed during the live sketches.
The artist is the first advocate for the image that lasts forever. But, it’s not just an artist thing. For anyone who’s ever loved: it’s like that. Parents see their children as others do not. Some find that annoying but it’s life saving for good kids. Brides and grooms see their soulmate with “rose colored glasses”. When you hear a love song, ask yourself “what part of the relationship are they singing about? ” yep. The beginning, when all trust and all hope is fully in place and before they get their eventual “balanced” view of each other.
When I paint, I see only the very best of my subject and I have zero interest in replacing that with a ‘balanced’ view.
All I see is unmatched beauty, wonderous promise, pure goodness. I paint through those eyes.
