“Creative expression can give a person almost everything that he or she has been searching for: enlivenment, peace, meaning, and the incalculable wealth of time spent quietly in beauty.”
Anne Lamott/Author

A Painting Is Just A Result

A finished painting is not just a finished painting. It is way more than that.

A finished painting:

- Started out as an idea that an artist thought about and refined.

- Represents time spent, both in contemplation and execution.

- Contains the feelings and emotions of the creator.

- Doesn’t reveal all of the frustrations and disappointments that the artist felt during its creation, (even though they are there, in the painting).

- Does not tell the entire story of its creation and its creator, (even though there may be visual clues).

- Does not disclose all of the artists blood, sweat and tears that it took to create it.

- Contains the fear, self-doubt, uncertainty and vulnerability of the creator, (it’s in there - trust me).

- Does not tell the viewer how long it took to make (which is probably many years when you factor in education, practice, trial and error, and all of the other paintings that came before it).

- Does not indicate how many failed attempts, adjustments, and corrections it took, so that it could become what it is now.

- Does not speak of the hours of solitude the creator had to endure in order to create it.

- Does not reveal how many decisions it took to create it.

- Does not reveal how many ah-ha moments the artist had.

Its all in there - it just may not be visually apparent to the viewer. Which is OK, and probably just as it should be.
Best,

David