Many people have asked me in the past how is it that I can draw like I do, and my answer is that I really do not know!
Seriously, I came out of my Mother’s womb doing what I do and thinking like I think, so really no school can claim responsibility for any of my talents at all.
Trust me, I’m not trying to be “big headed” about it at all if you may have thought that, I’m actually very humble about it and really don’t think I’m where I should be as an artist at all.
Remember, from 1981 until 2001 I didn’t pick up a pen or pencil to do anything other than write sentences, pay bills or scribble notes. That’s it.
I’m telling you all this because I wanted to go a little deeper into what I feel it is not only with me, but with other expressionists also, and the medium that they choose to indulge in doesn’t necessarily have to be the same as I because at the root the heart of an expressionist is rooted in the same spirit.
But with all who are in the field of creative expression, it is something that they feel that they must do because it comes from the soul and the sense of urgency to express their deepest feelings is divine.
Many who do not understand this state of being will probably never will. And it’s not necessary that they do. All one has to do when absorbing the expressions of an artist is to sit back and freely allow the feeling of what they share to flow through you.
There is no way to categorize or explain how we do what we do except to say that we are an antenna or lightning rod for an energy that most are unable to receive.
What we share is honestly beyond us even though it is transmitted through our souls. It’s as though we sit atop a divine precipice and gifted with a wonderful view into a world slightly beyond the senses of most but do our best to explain through our various art forms what it is that we’re blessed to see.
This is why the intense conversations between a family of inspired artists are far beyond the reaches of one who must have facts and concrete proof of that wonderful and surreal place in which we travel on a regular basis.
With these types of individuals who actually are on the other end of a spectrum in which we have to disconnect our creative selves to trek, we are either embraced wholeheartedly or despised by them because we exist on a plane that they really could never grasp but know deep down is there.
It’s almost like hanging out with someone while having the ability to fly, either they will look up at you in a sincere state of fascination and bedazzlement or they will be pissed off that they’re unable to rise to the heights that you can. It’s all a matter of the maturity level of that one who is put in the place to experience what we do.
It can also be a very intense place to be, to be an artist who “sees – feels – hears – touches – smells” his/her work even before it is put down is an out of this world place that makes what most know as reality pale in comparison.
It’s the ultimate and natural high.
This is why an artist can spend countless hours by themselves without interruption as they seem to prefer the intense state of solitude that allows them to delve deeper into themselves to extract the beauty of what they see.
It’s not selfishness or being “stand-offish” as many might whisper, it’s just a matter of taking the time to excavate something so fascinating from within in order to eventually share it with the world around us. So in fact that isolated segment of the creative process is the ultimate act of love because at the end of the day everyone’s lives will be enhanced because of the often unappreciated sacrifice of the artist.
Take an artist, any artist for example, let’s take Michael Jackson…….imagine how many days and nights, months and years he took to get every song just right before he released them for our mass consumption so that we can absorb it exactly the way he felt it from within. Not only that, but he had to flow in the area of the stage performance and have it synchronized with his music!
What an artist indeed he was! Not only that, to prove my point right about all artists having the same basic motor under their hoods or core, it was discovered after his passing that he was truly a man of diverse skill through the pen and pencil sketches that the world never saw while he was alive.
But where ever Michael Jackson’s essence may dwell at this time, he knew while he was on this plane that what he shared with the world would last on forever beyond his limited years on this earth.
It’s the ultimate satisfaction and a living breathing reflection that every artist hopes to achieve while creating in this life.
While most mere mortals live and die without as much as a remembrance past a or two even with today’s technology once their time has passed on this planet, the artist lives on indefinitely through his work to inspire, motivate and validate all those who have been touched by what he/she has shared so abundantly through their soul.
For all parents who have a talented youngster coming up under them, I encourage you to allow them to flourish in that area of their life as their inner explorations and eventual development will give them an unshakable confidence that will translate into the subsequent areas in their life of adulthood that will fuel them to excellence in everything area of expertise that they pursue.
For those who have lived life a little and may feel that it’s a bit too late to develop their talents, fret not, it’s never too late to reconnect with what was placed in your soul! I will tell you that after stopping my sketches for twenty years of my life only to pick it back up as though I never stopped, I had so much more to bring to the table because of my life experiences.
Set sometime for yourself everyday to connect with yourself to see what it is that will bring you the most joy as an expressionist regardless as to what medium you choose to explore.
Remember, there is no right or wrong in art, the main objective is to stay connected to the creative source that flows through you. While those who have more experience can guide you and put you far ahead in your development than you could have on your own, understand that you have the final say so because of what you “feel” from within.
Guidance from an experienced artist is only a jump start or push for you to discover your own flow.
To emulate the proven Masters in your art form is a wonderful thing as long as you embrace the fact that deep within you is a “Master” developing in its own right preparing to shine its brand of greatness out to the world in a unique manner.
I will continue these thoughts on a deeper level focusing on what I see as an artist but allow me to say this in closing; art is a journey, no matter what you do to express yourself if it feels right to you it IS right.
Never allow anyone with a negative word (Understand the difference between Constructive Criticism and an outright envious personal attack on your efforts with the covert intent to discourage) to influence your direction or cause you to doubt yourself from within.
This is YOUR journey and if you feel to venture to a place artistically it is your full right to do so.
I would love to hear from you and what your thoughts are as one who is gifted. It doesn’t matter whether you are singer, dancer, pencil artist, painter or wood carver! The feeling and pleasure derived from creating and subsequently being appreciated intensely by your peers is a feeling that the masses simply could never understand!
Peace & Righteous Love Always,
Your Artistic Brother,
LanceScurv
407.590.0755
