Most of us would dearly like to be able to express ourselves through some artistic medium or another. We all have an inner soul, with thoughts and feelings that we yearn to express through some means in a way in which we can be understood.
Some use the written word as a means of conveying our thoughts and emotions. A wide vocabulary and a fired imagination will, if we fulfil the objective we strive to achieve, create an image or inspire sentiment.
Others are blessed with the gift of music. Whether the genre be classical, soul, ballad or rock the successful music writer will create something, whether it be in instrumental or lyrical form, that will move us to another state, be it one that is steeped in nostalgia, feelings of love, a rush of adrenalin or any of a whole host of other emotions that we all pass through at various stages of our being.
The photographer captures the magical moment for posterity. Whilst it takes very little in the way of knowledge or training to hold a mobile telephone up to the subject and click away, the trained art in creating the ideal pose against the right background and with the light in the place we want it remains the prerogative of the professional, whose acquired expertise compliments his or her natural flair for creating the ultimate image for our optimum enjoyment.
So it is with the painter, whose talent it is to project not only the literal image as beheld by the naked eye but also the spirit of the subject and the emotions it induces to the audience.
Those who are blessed with the ability to draw or to paint exude a trait that is unique to their kind, a sense of being at one with the tools of their trade in a way that almost absorbs them into the artist’s own personality. A loving feel for the texture and the consistency of the crayon, a perception of colour and tone that seems so much deeper than that that the rest of us experience as we take them so much for granted.
The finished product finds itself into our homes in so many different ways, not just in the form of wall-mounted inspirational paintings but also as placemats, wallpapers, intuitive greeting card designs and so forth. It gives character to our dwellings or workplaces that in turn speaks out about our own personalities and desires.
In an age of mass-production in the realms of music and visual entertainment it is reassuring that true art continues to inspire us as it always has done throughout the centuries.
