paintbrshI’ve explored numerous art museums around the world, but it’s the one in Chicago that recently revealed these truths to me:

1.One Subject, Numerous Possibilities of Expression
Each artist will see the subject in a unique way – or in many unique ways. A haystack, a bridge, the Eiffel Tower… see any of them through the style eyes of realism, impressionism or pop art and no doubt dramatically different images come to mind. The possibilities of art (and of film) are the “many” and there is not a single, correct “one”… unless of course we are the artist and looking for the right “one” expression for our own artist within.

2.The Many Drafts Before Brush Stroke #1
No artist starts a full scale finished work from brush stroke number one. There will be many sketches that precede it: pencil sketches, pencil crayon ones, miniature fully-painted versions of the finished work to come. In these experimental drafts, the artist can test form, subject placement and meaning, technique, overall creative vision. Some museums display testing pieces near the final work, and then you can see what’s the same and what’s changed during the artistic process – and a process it is indeed. Drafts and drafts of the script precede the shooting script. Just as shorter films precede longer works on the artistic path of discovery. No single jump to final work.

3. If it’s a Different Time, It’s Different Art
Take Big Ben at dawn, with the warm summer light setting it to glow. Take it again at sunset with the sun providing back light instead, making us perceive its bricks darker than they are. Take it again buried deep in London fog. Different times of day, times of the year, and it’s a very different painting evoking in us different emotions. How too our perspective on the same story changes at different times our lives. We don’t see the same story from the eyes our childhood as we do in adulthood and on to further maturity. Knowing our perspectives as artists changes over time, we can explore the various points of view we could use for a story to find the right one… for now, anyway.

Yes, I’ve done a posting about art and not shown you pictures of the actual pieces I saw that brought me to these thoughts. Well, that’s because it’s now up to you to go to an art museum near you and discover the artistic possibilities and inspiration yourself. What will you discover when looking at the actual paint strokes? Have you done so already? Share them!

In the meantime…

Cheers & an artistic shoot to you,
Deb