Saturday, February 28, 2009

Everyone can be an artist...

"Are not painting and color inspired by love? Is not painting merely the reflection of our inner self, whereby even one's skill with a brush is surpassed? It has nothing to do with it. Color with its lines contains your character and your message. If all life moves inevitably toward its end, we should during ours paint it with our colors of love and hope. In this love lies the social logic of life and the essential part of each religion." -- Marc Chagall

I love this quote from Marc Chagall, because he seems to be saying that it doesn't matter if you can draw or not - that every person can express their own unique character and message through color. I think everyone can be an artist and should try putting color on paper or canvas. I don't have time in my life right now, but someday I hope to find time to do this.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

".....every person can express their own unique character and message through color......".

I'm not sure about this. Mightn't it be truer that we best expresses our own unique character and message through the means which best suits us, whether poetry, music, prose, sculpture, pottery, or whatever?

For what it's worth, I simply cannot paint or draw. I wasn't born with this talent. For me to try to draw or paint would be to try to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

As it is for me, so may it be for others.

marain said...

Phillip S Phogg said Mightn't it be truer that we best expresses our own unique character and message through the means which best suits us, whether poetry, music, prose, sculpture, pottery, or whatever?

You are probably right. The point I hoped to pass on is that, even if you think you have no skill with rendering something in a realistic fashion (so that it looks like something), it doesn't really matter. What I understand Chagall to be saying is that if you would try to put color on paper, it would express your unique character and message, and that there is value in this, and probably with persistence, it would become more pleasing to you, even if it would not ever be the "best" expression of your unique character and message.

For what it's worth, I simply cannot paint or draw. I wasn't born with this talent. For me to try to draw or paint would be to try to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

And yet, if you just put colors that please you on paper/canvas, not trying to do anything that looks like anything, just play with colors and see what happens, you might be surprised at the result. I can't draw or paint either, and don't aspire to be a great artist, but I would like to just mess around with colors someday and see what happens. That's all I was trying to say.

Thanks for commenting. It's gratifying that someone is reading my random and sporadic stuff.

Merisi said...

The great sorrow of our time is that artistic expression is not seen as creating something of value. Our schools are putting a very narrow focus on learning useful things, the so-called core subjects. Creativity is seen as something that develops on its own, and does not need to be nurtured.

To Phillip I would say that "talent", marked innate ability, is in us all. Many of us shall never know how far we could have developed it, hecause we did not apply ourselves, brush stroke after brush stroke, year after year. However, I strongly believe that enthusiasm in a subject may be way more important than the so-called talent.

I would not necessarily interpret Chagall's opinion as meaning that all of us could or should take up a brush and become painters. A musician would tell you that there is a melody in every little thing, while a photographer would search with the camera, and a chef would look for just the right combination and preparation of ingredients to create a splendid meal.

Tango daddy said...

Indeed you have a depth marain that I find refreashing, my artistry is blacksmithing and my next hammer stroke depends on the last. colour of the metal is important. hope this is consistent with your posts idea.

marain said...

Tango, I love it that you read my stuff and make comments! Please don't ever worry about your comments being consistent with my postings! I moderate comments only because there are some crazy people out there, and I don't want them messing up my blog. You are not one of them!

Merisi! Wow! I am honored that you visited my blog! Thank you for your thoughtful comments! All the best to you!

Jo said...

What a great post! Picasso said it took him a lifetime to learn how to paint like a child. It's so true.

Good luck with your painting!

marain said...

Thank you for your good wishes, Jo! And thanks for stopping by! All the best to you!

Carl said...

Make your life your art! I love this idea! Thanks for sharing.

Carl

marain said...

Thank you for your comment, Carl! I'm very sorry for the delay in publishing it!! I was offline for a few days. Hope you will visit again! All the best to you!!!

Anonymous said...

Chagall is not one of my favorite painters, however, I've always considered him to be a major positive influenence in art. Years ago I was stuck somewhere, details unimportant, and one of the few books I had to read while I was killing time was a short biography of Chagall. While it didn't increase my appreciation for his paintings it did seriously increase my appreciation of him as an artist.