There is power in a blank canvas that pulls us in. It awakens the soul of the artist living within us. Feelings mix with ideas as we stare at that blank canvas. Teachings of composition and design aid us through wonderful trips of colors and shapes. We wrap our canvas with dreams and ideas to waken ourselves and others to the world we share. Armed with the guidance passed down from artist to artist we bring our dreams to a canvas with a clearer message than they had in our heads. Gifted with the knowledge of how light plays, paintings take on a dramatic tone, or whimsical tales come alive to brighten a viewer's day.
We learn a craft of visual poems. We learn how design guides the viewer's attention, as the composition sets the stage. The light through a wedge of an orange will make our mouth water as we savor the taste. The right setting for a wedge of orange can change how we see it, raising the interest in the subject.
A stream takes on more meaning if it is flowing out from the center of a canvas. It holds our attention for a moment, lifting spirits. Armed with the right tools for painting, a simple landscape can make a viewer be more appreciative of the natural world around them. Like how the wind shapes a tree or how sunflowers follow the sun during the day. Oak trees grow tall and thin in the forest reaching for the sunlight, while, growing alone, they spread out more to get the sun they need. One particular fungus, prized by cooks, only grows on fallen oak trees. Landscapes can tell us more stories than just that trees are green in the summer and red and orange in Autumn.
Artists have it in them to teach, preserve, and awaken ideas in others.
