[First published December 2015]
It’s almost Christmas, but it won’t be a white one here in Virginia this year. No drifts of snowflakes predicted (rain, in fact, is on the radar screen). But I like to think about the miraculous individuality of snowflakes, no two alike. It’s an easy step in my mind then, to go from their uniqueness to the unique vision of each artist, of each human, as we create.
I saw this individual vision play itself out clearly last week, as I painted with friends. Six of us all painted the same still life, a white bowl of richly crimson berries, a pomegranate, a few other details – but the berries were the main point. At the end of the day, we hung them all together.
The contrast!
The difference!
Were we all looking at the same objects?
Superfruits, acrylic on paper
Yes, you can see: see the berries, the bowl, the pomegranate; the theme recurs. But the eyes of each of us see with our own sight. We make choices – format, type of line, colors, brush shape – that inform our work. Working out of our own world view, our individual life experiences, brings an authenticity to each piece. We reveled in the variety we created, triumphant. Each as unique as a snowflake.