Original Oil Painting

Hello Everyone;

I hope all of you had a great weekend. Here in the western suburbs of Chicago, we actually had two great weather days. My wife spent a lot of it outside enjoying the abundant sunshine and warm temperatures.

This painting is an 11” X 14” on cotton stretched canvas. This scene depicts a misty mount morning, I guess. The funny thing is, I had not intention of painting this composition when I started it. Over the years that I have been painting, I have found a few absolutes. One is whenever you allow your inner artist to do their work, your painting is always better than it would have been if you were stubborn and continued to rely on your conscious self. The other is similar. When we thing too much, we destroy the spontaneous creativity we all have inside of us.

Let me explain. For many years now, I have been writing about the “inner artist” that I found. To be completely transparent, I found him inside of me. He was always that little voice that urged me to hold the brush like this and use lighter pressure, or mix this color this type of way and so on. For the longest time, I ignored my “inner artist” and I trusted what I was actually seeing in front of me.

One day I was watching an episode of MASH. It was a re run I have seen many times since MASH is one of my all time favorite TV shows. Anyway, this episode revolved around a concert pianist Major Winchester operated on. The soldier had injuries that would keep him playing at that level ever again and Charles tried to console him. What Charles told him has stuck with me since and I have adopted that philosophy into my art.

He told the soldier that he had already experienced the joy Charles would never. Charles told him, he can play the notes, but he cannot make the music. He let him know the music was inside of him, not in his now, injured hand.

My best art is not from my eyes or my hand, but from the inner artist that lives within my soul. Every painting will not be a success, that is not how life works, but if we all listen to our inner artist and make a conscious effort to have ourselves get out of our own way, than perhaps we too and make the music.

Have A Blessed Day My Friends