Art is Beauty, Artificial, and Morally Ambiguous

Illuminated Rose Candle

Art, in its very existence, is everything. Expression of what is beautiful and what is not. What it makes me feel when I do is like meditating on a rose. It illuminates the darkness in my little world and brings out the artist in me. That blossoms "like a red, red rose." -Me

Art is beauty. Art is simple and ethereal. It is filled with life, energy, passion, seduction, grace, and some elements of truth integrated in a single piece... like a rose. I can't say enough about it, in fact, I'm at a loss for words when I marvel at its significance and how much it is associated with beauty (among other things). A red rose, such as this, can be described in poetry, story, song, maybe even in a dance. 

As you're looking at the image above, you must wonder about the artist's intention to create that overwhelming "radiance" (I think it's exaggerated because there's already some small ray of light coming from the center) in a rose to emphasize that it's greater than it already is. Or maybe you could just look at it and get a sense of it's magnificence. Close to perfection. As if there's nothing too overbearing in its composition from this angle. 

If you're looking at it from the latter's point of view, then you'll have the amateur (me!) and not the original artist to thank for that! If you can see that it's rather overdone with the luminescence or something and maybe get rid of the fluff that surrounds it, then it's totally possible to find an earlier version of it. The original work titled "Meditative Rose" is actually a painting done by a true master: Salvador Dali. Among all his most famous pieces, this one stands out to me as the most captivating portrayal of the beauty in nature with almost no hint of indecent ambiguity. 

You see, sometimes looking at art too closely can give you strange ideas and somehow you were able to catch on to the actual meaning behind the work. For me, I prefer to see the beauty of it if that is what the artist intended rather than what it might mean. 

Explaining Too Little with Too Many Words

It's deeply frustrating for an artist to explain her work in words that will be easily understood by everyone and that certainly includes people who lack appreciation for the Arts. This is not to say that my reasons for doing this blog is to allow for a space free of criticism from people who can't appreciate what I do. In fact, the reason why I did this is to give my audience, the people who DO appreciate my work so much that they keep a good track of it, the privilege of knowing more than what pictures can speak for themselves. 

Part of me knows that being free of criticism would be impossible and I hope that in making my work public that there is will be an almost equal amount of support and constructive feedback given so that I can still continue doing what I love. Everyday I search for websites that could give me inspiration to not only make art but to give me constant reassurance that this need for expression is well-worth the time, energy, and utmost sacrifice that demands... honesty, boldness, and many attributes that I am still working on. 

As you may have noticed, I tend to belittle my efforts as if they don't really matter in the end but if that were true, I wouldn't have the audacity to say it. Oftentimes, I find that words or phrases that may sound depreciating like "Who on Earth could possibly take me seriously even when I'm wearing an expensive suit if my face still looks like a clown?" more convincing than anything that tries to be optimistic. Besides, who doesn't love a little controversy? Except that's not really what I aim for but sometimes things like that can appear out of no where. 

And before this all starts sounding wordy ('cause proofreading just shows me exactly what elements to make me cringe every time), I'll just clarify this point: I am an artist. I express myself through art. I have yet to sell art because if I did, I would be doing double-triple duty.

Only When Time Turned into Melted Cheese That I Became Serious

You know you're an artist... the moment you spot a really cool painting somewhere and it gives you a major artsy boost to start a project! 

Well for me... definitely!
I stumbled upon this piece while searching online for subgenres in art and came across the word "surrealism." Out came this fascinating yet bizarre picture filled with pocket watches that looks as if they're made of cheese or jello. It blew my mind. I had never seen anything like it. Seriously.

"The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali

The one you see here is the upside down version of a 24x18" poster print of the famous painting which I bought over 2 years ago. Apparently, that's twice the size of the original! Now I've looked over this piece a number of times before to try and figure out what it all means and to be honest, I still can't come up with a clear idea for it! 

But here's the thing: when it comes to viewing art, whether it's realism, surreal, or abstract, you're not expected to understand it. It's not like a diagram of some unknown species that you need to identify the parts. To try to make sense of a particular work is to lack appreciation of the creation itself. In my own understanding as an artist, when I create something, I am not so much concerned about how it will come across to people if they find it worthy of praise (that was my aim at the start) nor do I expect some reward offered for my hard work. Instead, I create what simply comes from the desire to express what I feel or show what images my mind can produce which is all demonstrated by sheer precision and attention to the finest details, or in a very loose manner just enough to retain some control of the tool.

More importantly, the more I devote my time into the process, the more consumed my mind is in making additional details to fill the white spaces. In other words, I get a little carried away with the small stuff.

Reminiscing a Short-lived "Fame"

A boy in my Grade five class was boasting about me one day, shamelessly declaring "Christy's gifted!" to which I immediately ducked for cover and hoped to God that no one heard him. The mere thought of being discovered or having that label couldn't possibly end with a round of applause. I know you're probably thinking, "What's wrong with you?" Well, it's not really like he was stating an absolute fact (even though it sounded kinda flattering since I still recall the incident like it was last year), this was my extremely shy, introverted, attention-phobic, fresh-from-the-ocean younger self who would rather blend in the crowd and be almost invisible. Nothing aside from my ethnic background and innate talent for drawing could draw me the most attention in a school that's predominantly Caucasian. From that point, inferiority complex soon developed. 

Unofficial YearbookCover Design '98

Anyway, here's proof of my earliest score to "fame" I guess, according to my elementary schoolmates at the time. I mean, big deal. Nominated to do the Yearbook cover design? Why not. I was up for anything art related. It kept me from feeling like an outcast 'cause clearly, I was an alien. A gifted one at least. But thankfully, I didn't let it go over my head. Oh to be a kid again. 

Why Write About it Like Anyone Cares to Know

For people who have seen me around from somewhere and don't know my name might presume that I'm not much of a talker. Which is actually a fact. Even if I did tell them my name, where I'm from, and my favorite color, they still know very little about me. At least not the kind of information I would freely give that would be useful to them. Rarely do people ask diverse questions that don't already include name, place of birth, and occupation. After a few minutes of giving them the 411, conversation becomes stale. And then they leave and you never see or hear from them ever again. Ever. Gone with the wind, as they say.

Story Without End 

So before you, yes you reading this blog, can up and leave (or click 'Next Blog' at the Top of the page), I'll just cut to the chase: I've decided that it's time to create a blog about my life at this point. I'll give a brief history of how I came to be (or how I claimed that title) and what influenced my work. I feel it's important to write about the source of my inspiration to make art. It's basically a record of how I became the person I am today.