Art Needs You

A scene can be painted with words as well as brush strokes. The words are like the colors. There tone, the specific word, can change the meaning of a sentence drastically. The page, whether it is a computer page or paper, is the canvas.

It is the blank slate that an artist must put their mark. The idea can be daunting-How am I to fill a space so white? So blank? Then the words-or the paint-begin to flow. The idea was there all along, just waiting to be freed. It may not be what was originally intended, but it is art nonetheless. It doesn’t have to be Da Vinci or Hemingway. It may never reach greatness. However, you created something, no matter how novice, or how professional. Its practice, learning, and heart. You can’t have art without heart.

Or soul.

You pour heart and soul into everything you create. It makes the art come to life. You post it with faith and hope. Faith that you’d done the best you could. Hope that others would like what you worked so hard to create. Art is fragile, as the artist’s heart is fragile. We wish so much for people to like what we’ve made. It’s like baring your soul for all to see-this is who I am. This is what I can create.

Words or markers, a keyboard or a brush, bookbinding or glass furnace, paper or metal, it’s all art. No matter the medium. We all know one thing.

Art isn’t easy to create. There is no shortcut. You have to live and breathe it; you have to believe it in order for others to. If you can’t be surprised by a turn of events in a book, then neither will the person reading it.

If you can’t be stunned by the art you’ve created, then neither will the person looking at it. We all have that creative bent within us, waiting to be unleashed. Let it flow, let it go, and follow its lead. It will take you to where you need to go. Hone it, and your art will truly be a masterpiece.

No one starts out perfect. Everyone has to learn. Look at the art you see all around, learn from it. Use it to help you improve.

You can’t change overnight, but you can sure make some progress.

Art may need heart and soul to be good, but you need to deliver it.

Art, at the bottom of it, needs you.