When I graduate high school, I will have forgotten almost everything I’ve learned in Spanish or geometry, but art has taught me so much more then all those pointless classes combined. The question is: what has art taught me? The mere question sparks a million ideas and even more questions. Art has taught me to look at the world differently, that it is okay to be wrong, and never second guess a gut feeling. Art has not only allowed me to express myself, it actually changed my life.

            One of the most important things art has taught me is to try new things. Try to new mediums, and most importantly ask “What if?” You can never get comfortable with one idea or you will never grow. The key to growth as an artist is simply trying new things; changing one measly thing could change your entire style as an artist. But you will never know unless you try. No one is going to sit there and tell you how to work or what is right or wrong, only you can decide that.

            Also, art has taught me that it’s okay to be wrong. It doesn’t matter if I mess up because I could make that mistake into something beautiful. That is the beauty of art, no one can tell you what you have created is bad because it is your expression not theirs. Never second guess myself. Once I get a new idea I run with it, I do not stop to think, “Maybe I shouldn’t…” Second guessing an idea basically puts the breaks on my creative process. I look at the world differently now because of art.

            You could ask me what Earth Science taught me in five years and I would end up hurting my brain trying to remember, but you could ask what art has taught me and I would be able to give you a bunch of different and unique ideas on the spot .Taking art has given me many life lessons and skills for my future. This class has shaped my life. 

Untitled

8”x6”

2010

Chris is a twenty-first century abstract artist. His artwork makes you think, probably one of the main reasons I studied him. Abstract art really interests me because there is so much more room for interpretation. In this particular untitled piece, you can see how he uses sky blues in contrast with browns and tan colored shapes. He uses many of the same colors throughout all his paintings and mixed media art; they all are light and easy on the eye.

All his works have a mellow and calming feel to them. All the shapes are placed together with harmony. Most of his works has repetition shown with similar shapes and soft color schemes. There are numerous pieces with rectangular shapes. His art really spoke to me, and that is why I choice him to study and found him memorable, because he made me think about what techniques and styles I could borrow from him.

Wave

2010

Oil on Canvas

27 x 37 inches

http://mattlively.com/home.html

“Young, stupid, broke,” -Matt Lively.

 Lively is a twenty-first century artist local artist who lives in Richmond, VA, and who teaches at VCU. I actually had a unique opportunity to see and listen to him talk when he came to Deep Run earlier this year. This gave me a unique insight into his life and his brain. He said, “Do a lot of what you’re good at.” Which brings me to his infamous beecyles he always paints, they are just so random and don’t make sense, but beautiful at the same time. He challenges himself to make ordinary things beautiful.

Wave by Matt Lively shows an ordinary town basically infested by beecycles. This really embodies his belief in making ordinary beautiful. The clouds have a layered look and are all different shades of blue, which is one of his trademarks. There is one small child in the lower right corner looking up in the sky as if in amazement from the beecycles in the sky. All the houses are uniform, but in various bright colors. Lively was definitely one of my most favorite artists to study, mostly because of his art and just a little bit because he was so funny. Listening to him talk made me want to study him more than I already did.