Art is an amazing type of expression. It is a passionate and detailed form of eloquence that is accepted and enjoyed worldwide. Famous artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael Sanzio and Sandro Botticelli are all well known Renaissance artists; their works are widely respected. Not only do I enjoy viewing art such as theirs, I also enjoy creating my own.
I am daily captivated by art. I become enraptured in the illustrative colors; masterpieces whose hues and tones are expressive beyond my understanding. I believe there are many similarities in pieces such as my favorite, Starry Night by Van Gogh, and in art made with oil pastels. I appreciate how his paintings aren’t like what we see every day. Many see Van Gogh as innovative, daring and contemporary. Van Gogh mastered and used this audacious technique (later deemed Expressionism) in the last two years of his life. When I draw with my oil pastels, I try to accomplish the same as Van Gogh: I try to see past the usual to a world that is full of magnificent colors.
While oil pastels are a beautiful technique to create with, this wax like substance doesn’t always cooperate. Many oil pastel artists choose to draw with their fingers. For those who prefer something a little less messy, oil pastel pens and brushes are available as well. The size and shape of your utensil is crucial in the effect and design of your creation. Mistakes are easily made in this kind of art because it involves smearing. Last spring I was making a thank you card for my graduation gifts, when I realized I had accidentally smeared the card cover. This wouldn’t have happened had I not forgotten to spray the card with hairspray before writing in it (Hairspray hardens and seals the oil pastel to prevent smudging.) When mistakes are made while painting or charcoaling, it’s next to impossible to erase the mark entirely. With oil pastels, the art is smudging, ironically without this appropriate blunder this artistic technique would be incomplete.
Art is an over-all passionate hobby. Even if someone doesn’t have the most impressive artistic abilities to begin with, it’s an excellent outlet for expression. Individual art doesn’t always have to be as impressive as Da Vinci, or as liberal as Picasso. I often wonder if there is an invisible standard that qualifies some artistic endeavors as art, and some as mere scribbles. If a child draws a picture for his mother, would we refrain from calling the childs work art because it doesn’t meet our standards? Art itself has depth, not at all an incomprehensible depth, like something on a pedestal out of the reach of those who are less “accomplished.” No, art comes in many shapes and sizes, and we all have things we love to do, naturally I imagine “art” as a verb, a word that expresses what we enjoy doing most. Famous 19th Century artist Eric Gill once said “Art is historically and presently a large part of our society."
I am daily captivated by art. I become enraptured in the illustrative colors; masterpieces whose hues and tones are expressive beyond my understanding. I believe there are many similarities in pieces such as my favorite, Starry Night by Van Gogh, and in art made with oil pastels. I appreciate how his paintings aren’t like what we see every day. Many see Van Gogh as innovative, daring and contemporary. Van Gogh mastered and used this audacious technique (later deemed Expressionism) in the last two years of his life. When I draw with my oil pastels, I try to accomplish the same as Van Gogh: I try to see past the usual to a world that is full of magnificent colors.
While oil pastels are a beautiful technique to create with, this wax like substance doesn’t always cooperate. Many oil pastel artists choose to draw with their fingers. For those who prefer something a little less messy, oil pastel pens and brushes are available as well. The size and shape of your utensil is crucial in the effect and design of your creation. Mistakes are easily made in this kind of art because it involves smearing. Last spring I was making a thank you card for my graduation gifts, when I realized I had accidentally smeared the card cover. This wouldn’t have happened had I not forgotten to spray the card with hairspray before writing in it (Hairspray hardens and seals the oil pastel to prevent smudging.) When mistakes are made while painting or charcoaling, it’s next to impossible to erase the mark entirely. With oil pastels, the art is smudging, ironically without this appropriate blunder this artistic technique would be incomplete.
Art is an over-all passionate hobby. Even if someone doesn’t have the most impressive artistic abilities to begin with, it’s an excellent outlet for expression. Individual art doesn’t always have to be as impressive as Da Vinci, or as liberal as Picasso. I often wonder if there is an invisible standard that qualifies some artistic endeavors as art, and some as mere scribbles. If a child draws a picture for his mother, would we refrain from calling the childs work art because it doesn’t meet our standards? Art itself has depth, not at all an incomprehensible depth, like something on a pedestal out of the reach of those who are less “accomplished.” No, art comes in many shapes and sizes, and we all have things we love to do, naturally I imagine “art” as a verb, a word that expresses what we enjoy doing most. Famous 19th Century artist Eric Gill once said “Art is historically and presently a large part of our society."
Art is historically and presently a large part of our society; it's in our past, in our future, and within all of us. Oil pastels aren’t the only tools I create with. I thoroughly enjoy using color pencils, chalk and charcoal, crayons, markers, calligraphy pens and paint brushes to sketch my work. Admittedly, I’m not a very accomplished artist, but Van Gogh said it best when he said “What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” Perhaps it’s true, that as humans we are all capable of capturing the beauty around us, even if it’s in only in our own eyes.
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