My art, my truth

Update: 1:20pm, 9 November. I really like this man I drew yesterday! It has nothing to do with the contents of this post, but I really need to scream about it, so here it is. The clothing folds look so delicious. His glasses and headband make him look so domestic and cutieful. I want him to be a retired knight living a cosy, easy life in his garden.

For the longest time, I've been stumped over the question, 'Why do I draw?'. I never had a reason deeper than, 'It's fun, right?'. It's sort of shameful, as it implies that once it's not fun anymore, I won't create anymore. Granted, I do think of giving up the moment I struggle with articulating a piece, as in I want to stop drawing completely. Yet, my stubbornness wins, and I try again.

On and off, I've developed a deeper answer to that long-fated question. I think art is a gateway into the artist's soul, their minds, their worlds and their truths. Once you get a whole body of work, you can see their 'brand universe', to borrow the language of luxury marketing, the things that matter. 

This is the same for literary works, too! If you read/view enough work from the same writer/artist, you'll see recurring tropes, common themes they like talking about or just little quirks. It feels intimate to get into someone else's work, to see the depths of their imagination and perspective. I think that's what makes art so wonderful—the feeling of closeness.

While writing this, I'm reading about the idea of a gaze as put forth by John Urry, which essentially states that people view the world differently, which means people have different ideas of Truth and pre-conceptions they try to fit 'the world' into. It's an interesting idea, and it relates here.

A whole catalogue of art and writing directly illuminates the creator's 'gaze' on the world around them,  or at least what's in their heart. Naturally, it's fun to just make art for the sake of it. However, I want to create things that touch on ideas I have from my real life, like the plants and animals I see, or my ideals on how life should be.

I like relaxing, since I barely do it. I also like nature. Maybe the Truth I'd like to create in my art is to show off a healling, tranquil relationship with nature. It's not exciting or splash-page worthy but it reflects the sort of person I want to become and the life I want to lead. Idealistic? Maybe, but that's what art is for!

None of this made sense, but I enjoy writing, so here's my third blog post of the month!