Art: More Than meets the eye



"The Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci

"Number 8" by Jackson Pollock

What is art? Art can be anything from a beautiful portrait created by an grandmaster of art to “ thoughtless” splatters of paint on canvas . Artist have been belittled by the general public because of their “effortless- looking” art. Paintings have been poked fun as “Even I could do that!”. Before deciding to become an art major, I shared the same attitude. I've taken a couple semesters of art classes ,which have reshaped my perspective on art . I have learn about the artists themselves and how events and individuals had influence their artwork. I also had great pleasure of creating my own pieces of artwork. In doing so I discovered the great deal of work there is in being an artist. One must gather materials, visualize what you wish to paint, lay down a blueprint, mixed paint (intill your reach your ideal colors), and apply paint. Mixing colors is perhaps the most difficult part in painting especially if the piece has five hundred different colors in it. Painting not only physically exhausts you, it can also do an number on your emotional being. When I paint, I deal with several emotions than often translates onto the canvas. Colors and brush stokes become a way to express my emotions. My paintings become an extension of me, they carry feelings and stories of the time it was created. My opinion on art was been changed, from being a plain apathetic viewer to an artist that is fully engrossed in the progress in creating art. This did not occur over night but it took a couple semesters to greater appreciate even the most simplest form of art. Now and days,when looking at art I inspect every single brushstroke and try to decipher what the artist is trying to communicate with to the viewer. I now grasp the idea that in art there is much more than meets the eye.

 


"Abuela's Huipil" By Ana Mena (yours truly)