I changed my mind

Before we move on, ( I changed my mind on posting some drawings) I want to talk about something called line quality. This has nothing to do with shape, necessarily. It can, but neither shape or line quality are dependent upon one another.

A line, in order to be visible, must have a degree of weight, whether minimal or not. A drawing comprised of invisible or near invisible lines probably won't have much impact. There needs to be, most usually, variation in the quality of line in a drawing in regards to weight in order for the drawing to be truly effective, although there are exceptions to this rule. But, generally speaking, it is best to have variation in line quality in order to define movement of form as the eye moves over the surface that is being described in the drawing in order to give the illusion of three dimensions. By movement of form, I mean how there is variation in the surface that is being described in the drawing.

Oddly enough, though, for every rule, there is an exception, somewhere. I am but one person, out of a whole planet of artists and students of art. But, I hope to find some adherents to this line of thinking of mine, and maybe we can have a school of us and we can all progress together, even if only two, or a few more than two. A question comes to mind: What is better? A school of thought that is progressive and elite with only a few adherents, or a widely accepted thing that has a great degree of commerce attached to it? I would say the former, the more obscure one, but that is just one opinion. Please post your comments. I'd like to get into discussion on this blog. BTW, my Yahoo! is Hypnus9, as you can find in my profile. feel free to hit me up there, and we can discuss art on Yahoo. That would be really cool, in my humble opinion. Maybe we could get a fellowship of artists happening, and we can all grow together.

Art is a form of liberty and freedom, as it is solely based on truth. There is truth to everything, at least to the praiseworthy and the worthwhile. Any shortcoming in anything you can name is due to a lack of knowledge: yours, mine, anyone's. Where can the truth be found? Opinions vary. Truth is like water: sometimes you can't find it, and other times, you can't escape it, but neither situation is permanent. I personally often refer to Jesus because, as I am a Christian, He is my Touchstone. Others refer to what Buddha said, and so on. No matter what, truth is truth. The Bible says, "The Spirit is truth," and Jesus Himself said, "Flesh counts for nothing. Flesh gives birth to flesh, spirit gives birth to spirit." Therefore, I would say, adhere to that which is spiritual. What is spiritual? I guess that is all relative to what an individual believes. At one point, truth is relative, but there is absolute truth, either simple or complex. For instance, one simple simple truth is the fact that 1+1=2. That is an absolute truth. Every word carries with a truth, or perhaps more than that. I guess truth becomes relative when the truth is not plainly seen. But, once we learn the truth, we can do something based on that truth. Truth is active. I believe that the greatest complacency and shame is when a truth is evident and not acted upon. Even I am guilty of this. What is to be done when this is the case? One must digress to that erstwhile thing and re-examine it, and then act upon it. The greatest of men never relent from acting upon the truth. What is our matter at hand? For the purposes of this blog, it is creativity: in regards to art and music and writing. Let us delve further into the truth. It seems to me that whenever truth is discussed, Jesus is inevitable like no other. Among other things, to me, Jesus is the Great Reference Point. There are many great reference points in many paradigms of many disciplines, but Jesus towers over them all as Lord and God, lording over not one, especially the child. Wherever you find truth, inevitably, you find Jesus. God bless the child. Jesus said, "The truth will set you free; everyone who sins is a slave to sin, but if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free indeed"

Let us not focus on sin, but upon the truth. Therefore, let us first ask questions. What have I created in life? What is the impetus for creation and creativity? As for the first question, I have created much, but I must confess, I did not organize it well, nor did I take strides to preserve it, therefore not much of it survives. I didn't, I guess, take my work seriously enough. I didn't esteem it highly enough. Therefore, I repent, and vow to myself to that I will organize my works more efficiently, and work to preserve them. As for the second and latter question, I believe the Idea is the impetus for creation and creativity. I believe this to be a timeless truth, an eternal one.

It is said that "truth is beauty; beauty, truth." How does this relate to the fundamentals of art? We need only a little truth to gain a great, or even a very great, thing. I have always believed that one truth opens a thousand doors. when I first started believing this, it was when I was a guitar instructor for a small music store in Macomb, Illinois. And I found that I was a better teacher when I would give free lessons than when I charged for them. The student got more out of it, and I got more out of it. Education ought to be free, at least in part. We may charge for a service, but knowledge ought to be free. Solomon said, "Buy the truth and do not sell it." But, by the same token, he also said, "The wise keep their knowledge to themselves."