Category: Quotable

The emotional attachment to art is huge. Who was it that said, “Art is emotion”? Visual art that happens without words (usually), relies on touching people’s emotions with colours, shapes, sometimes subject, always interpretation. This is also why it takes courage to show others your art. Our emotions and the expression of them is a vulnerable place. But it’s also a place ripe with meaning. I hope that as you create, you can take a deep breath and let others share your heart. Your thoughts? 

“An onion can make people cry but there’s never been a vegetable that can make people laugh.” Will Rogers   Have a happy long weekend, everyone! Next blog post August 7/12. 

It’s good to immerse yourself in things that are creative. Oliver Wendell Holmes suggested immersing yourself twice a week in music and you would find that it “is for the soul what the water bath is for the body.” What good advice! For painters, when not immersed in the act of painting, it is refreshing to immerse yourself in good art by others. The library is a treasure trove of art books. As for magazines, my favourite is International Artist for the diversity of good work found there. And sometimes as a treat I’ll drop in to Chapters and see if there are any other current art magazines of interest for sale. So much to be inspired by! Do you have a favourite art book or magazine? 

“I’ve dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas. They’ve gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the colour of my mind.” – Emily Bronte 

Then there was the fellow who wanted to know if I would paint his wife nude. He was quite persistent, even though I had said no thank you a couple of times to this particular commission. “No”, he said, “but will you paint my wife nude?” Finally I said, “I think I’d be way to cold.” He didn’t get it. 

“Distance has the same effect on the mind as on the eye.” Samuel Johnson Some common effects of distance (perspective) applied to painting: 1. Edges soften 2. Less detail 3. Colour less intense and paler 4. A moving toward cooler colour 5. Objects appear smaller –  I think Samuel Johnson is right, and it’s a good thing! 

“Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.” George Bernard Shaw – Have a Happy Canada Day everyone! Next blog post Tuesday July 3rd. 

“Take a rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.” Ovid –  Don’t you love good advice that comes from the 1st century B.C.? And in keeping with this good advice – I will be on holidays from June 16 through to June 24, and taking a rest from the blogosphere too. The next blog post will appear on June 25. Hope you have a good week, and that you have some rest time planned for this summer too! 

“Some men see things as they are, and ask why. Other men see things that never were, and ask why not.” George Bernard Shaw –  It’s paint and canvas, or pencil and paper, or notes in the air, or words on a computer screen. Whatever your creative endeavors – dream big! Cheryl O 

“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” Oscar Wilde “Life doesn’t imitate art, it imitates bad television.” Woody Allen What do you think? And … maybe there is a reason I don’t have a TV.