Doing Art - the Why of it

Why do I do art? Why do I love art so much? It speaks to me. It touches the very core of my spirit. I cannot look around me and see all that is in this world and not see the 'art' in it. It's simply impossible. When I look at the sky I see the very blue that is, there are many different blues. I see the shapes in the clouds, the lace of the tree branches and leaves against the backdrop of the sky. I see the horizon, the broad distance and expanse, and I envision myself laying it all down on canvas or paper, or taking a photograph of it. I see people and I catch myself staring all the time. I seem to be pulled into a face sometimes and I touch every angle with my eyes, studying it, remembering it. Faces are so beautiful, the young all the way to the old, I love faces. I wonder how there can be so many faces and yet to draw them there is a set of 'rules' and 'guides' to conform to to capture those faces. I am drawn by flowers too and the magnificent beauty and individuality of them. I love how the sunlight dances on things through my window and I can't help but get up and place more objects in the sunlight, just so, this angle and that, capturing the light and the shadows. I am intrigued by reflections too and sometimes try to visually see them the opposite way, with the reflection the reality and the real object as the reflection.

I play with what I see and imagine with my eyes and my mind and it makes me happy. It feeds my soul and brightens my spirit and my mood and I can de-stress. It's like a visual massage without the cost. Perhaps that's also why I enjoy teaching art. I want everyone to enjoy it, to feel it, to grasp it, to be engulfed within it. I want everyone to de-stress and begin to enjoy. Part of it is the creative process, the mind searching or the mind freeing, whichever mode I am in at the moment. But part of it is just the freedom to do it because I want to.

I have included a scrap page I made of my grandson's artwork at age 5 and 6 and one of another grandson working on a painting. He spent some time with me during the summer so I gave him some art lessons and we worked on this painting. I think he did a beautiful job. Can't wait for the next one!