''Up in smoke'' - 12.08.2014

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." - Henry Ward Beecher

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I'm sorry for such a long break in my posts but I just got back from holidays with a memory card full of painting resources which will hopefully turn into future paintings :)

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Why is it that things we notice most often in others are the things we dislike, or even hate, about ourselves?

The things we admire others the most for, are the things we wish we would be able to do... If a person is able to do something we can't or they are someone we want to be, we automatically idealise them which then leaves us with an unreal and exaggerated opinion...

We look for ourselves in others because that's what we know best. We know ourselves, or at least we think we do, so we're able to compare behavioural traits. We compare reactions in different situations to see whether they differ from our own or not and then we use it to predict how they'll react or act in a different situation. This can obviously be misleading as reaction is based on previous experience but that's the only way we can do it, so we try to get to know people in that way. 

Where am I going with this?

It's easy to make ourselves seem like we're something we're not in order to impress others, in order to make them wish they were like we are. What's the point of doing that? To gain a temporary friend, who will stop liking us as soon as they found out that we were pretending? I'd rather have people who really love me for who I am, than those who like me for someone I'm not.

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Painting published with this post was painted over another painting, over  painting I did 2 years ago but wasn't satisfied with it...

The name of the old one fits with the new one so it will stay as ''up in smoke''.

The new painting (top) is painted using Artists' oil paint from Winsor and Newton.
 It's painted on top of an acrylic painting :)


Lots of love,
Marlena

''Destiny'' - 06.07.2014

"The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting" 

- Vincent van Gogh

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Why do people paint?

Some paint to get rid of the excess of creative energy, others paint because they want to recreate a famous painting or want to paint like some famous artist; some people paint because they have always done it, since they can remember, they've always been painting; some are forced by their parents and others just want to make some money. There are also people who just like to be creative, they like to make something new, something unique, something that represents their emotions and state of mind.


Unless you're ready to make mistakes and learn how to work with, not against them, don't try to make art. In art, mistakes are a crucial part of the process, just like in life, we learn from mistakes and try to use them to our advantage.
I believe that everybody starts their life as an artist. Not necessarily a painter, but as an artist of some sort.
Some people try writing songs, creating melodies, singing in a jazzy way others try painting, sketching, sculpting and drawing, but most of them give up on it because they believe their passion is just a silly phase, just a childish dream which will never have a permanent place in their life. 

Many people give up on their dreams simply because the society tells them to do so as it's become more acceptable to live a life with no dreams, passion and happiness, but with money, than it us to live a fulfilling one while being poor.
Slowly people are turning into robot-like creatures that live in order to make money they believe they need in order to live. They fall into a never ending cycle. It's sad that money is such an important aspect of our lives.
It's so important that people choose to abandon  their dreams in order to make more and more and even more money. I don't want to live like that. I'd rather be poor and happy, than rich and stuck in a job I hate.
What's the point of life? Isn't it to be happy...? 

Henry Miller in his book [''To love is to paint again''] said that ''poverty is one of the misfortunes people seem to dread even more than sickness''. How strange is that? Surprising? Not necessarily. The main criterion for a ''happy'' life is money. People will not classify your life as complete if you don't reach a certain salary level. How awful is that? People are more scared of being poor than they are of being sick...
The weird thing is that you can't even get water... or food... without money. Money became more crucial to our survival.... than water.

Dreams don't matter anymore... being an artist doesn't matter anymore... then what does matter? money? yes... for some people... 
Money is a crazy invention... It's supposed to give people freedom, but instead it enslaves them.

I don't want to turn my hobby into a job. I don't want others to control my passion. If I did turn this into a job, I would have to start taking commissions, which would mean that I wouldn't be able to paint what I want. 

I paint to keep myself calm, relaxed and happy. I love seeing progress in my paintings... My style changed so much this year.. the first proper oil painting I ever created was in February 2014. And it looks completely different when compared with my other ones. And that's what keeps me going; trying new techniques makes it exciting for me... My dream is to exhibit my work in a gallery, but I doubt I'll ever get there, because if I did, then I'd always be trying to take the paintings off the walls and change something in them :')

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Here's something I created today :)

It's called ''Destiny''. A bit unrelated to the essay above, but that's the name I find the most fitting for a painting of the sea.

As always oil paints from Winsor and Newton (Artist's range) on a 18"x14" canvas.

Lots of Love,

Marlena