I never went to an art school. I failed the art courses that I did take in school. I just looked at a lot of things. And that’s how I learned about art, by looking at it.
~Jean-Michel Basquiat
It never continues to amaze me how much of a difference your point of view makes in how the world around you appears. Perhaps your world looks like an art class, a negative/oppressive place, somewhere with infinite possibilities, or a wonderful and amazing place.
- Maria Coryell-Martin is very much an observationist. She travels about the world and paints what she sees, from Antartica to Africa! “I believe in art as a tool for exploration, observation, and scientific inquiry.” Not only is she drawing from nature, but she’s doing so in collaboration with scientists, helping capture what is seen through the eyes of an artist. Definitely go and check out her website, it was so hard for me to narrow down images to share… there are many more to explore! She uses her art to share the amazing, awesome place that she sees around her.
- We’ve been tagged! – #TownPlazaMural – It feels like we’re flying forward with mural progress! It’s been so much fun to watch the changes as the foreground figures are leaping into existence. That’s a three-part process: We sketch the outline with spraypaint, then fill in the background with a couple coats of white, and finally add in the outline and details in black. So if you’re interested to come and help, just sign up here. We still need both fill-in-the-blank painters and detailers! Know someone who might be interested in slinging some paint? Please forward this email on to them.
- Nature is weird. But amazing. The most recent proof I’ve run across – this video of the gulper eel…
- Are you going to draw through this Inktober? – It’s a 31-day drawing challenge that started in 2009 with the simple goal of getting back to drawing. Basically, pick up a pen (or marker, or brush, or…) and create one drawing each day in October. Calligraphy, drawings, cartoon characters, whatever catches your fancy. There are suggested prompts, but you don’t have to follow them. The goal is to get back to creating and to have fun doing it!
In today’s society, it’s easy to focus on the negatives around us. I recently read that “much of one’s attitude toward life depends on your level of optimism. … The news cycle, driven by negative stories of the day, is the proverbial missing the forest for the trees. … Optimism is a reflexive trait, with a circular relationship between cause and effect. The more optimistic society is about the future, the better the future is.” I’m not saying that the world is perfect, or that there aren’t issues we need to deal with together, but there are amazing things in the world about us every day. As artists, we have the opportunity to comment on and influence the negatives, but also to highlight the positives and help share the beauty that we have a unique ability to see. What will you share from the world you see?
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Cheers!
Matthew & the Art Supply House crew