An Artist's Journey

It would be an understatement to say that artists are a curious bunch. Some postulate that artist are simply born. Others believe they are created. While I don’t pretend to know the answer, I can say that there is an awakening or transforming effect which occurs after immersion in the creative process. Once one crosses the threshold into that world, they are never the same. Nevertheless, regardless of one’s natural gifts creative muscle must be exercised to become proficient. Howbeit, this awakening and/or transformation generates an inescapable longing to create. Though “practical” concerns often divert their attention for a spell, an artist inevitably returns to their native home. This modulation between two worlds can be difficult to manage. The starving artist is a real phenomenon. Outsiders do not understand the predilection, but artists do not fare much better. Nevertheless, they are inspired by other artist’s investment, sacrifice, and devotion.

A prime example, is an artist I have been following via the internet, named Shaun Ellsworth, who recently took on a challenge to post 100 paintings on line in 100 days (www.shaunellsworth.com). Shaun is a lifelong artist who successfully maintains a normal family life, business, and creative pursuits. He is adept in many genres, showing maturity and flexibility--all the while nurturing a genuine, distinctive style.

Beginning on Labor Day 2009, Shaun took a sabbatical from the daily grind and began a 100 day journey. (see examples above--from left to right starting with top row: Dwellings 1, Once Upon a Time, Abstract Expressionism, Back to the Light, Expressive Drawing 1.3--bottom row left to right: Long Time Neva See, Expressive Drawing 2, Blue Day, Expressive Drawing 1.4, Dwellings 3.) Shaun, like so many artists, found the endeavor akin to a pilgrimage. Indeed, some people go to the mountain top, others retreat to the desert, but an artist retreats to mind and the topography of imagination. But why? What is the lure? Why lay down one soul like a strut to bridge the gap between possibility and being? Especially when treasures retrieved from that world are often rejected like foreign currency.

To even attempt to answer such questions requires one to examine the wonder of sentience itself. How is it that things can preexist in mind before becoming a physical reality? How is the vision of an edifice erected in the brain before any foundation is laid? How does the presage of a melody conceived in the transom foretell a song before it is ever sung? Indeed, from whence do such things arise? This mystery of mysteries holds the artist enthralled. Like whispers from another realm, familiar, intuitive, and seductive as the lingering fragrance of the soul’s eternal home.

While imagination is not tethered to physical limitations, creativity is the bridging of that gap--a metaphysical portal connecting both worlds. Hence, artistic vision it is not a nebulous frolic in fantasy. This innovation often requires meticulous dissection, analyzation, deduction, and logic mingled with the inspiration of ethereal possibilities. Moreover, being an artisan is one thing, being a creator is another. Artisans skillfully execute a craft. Creators invent. For example, Leonardo Da Vinci is often considered the greatest artist of all time. Indeed, it can be said that he was a multimedia artist. This would include his many inventions, conceptions, and experiments. He, like so many artists, straddled the gulf of imagination and being, thereby infusing the world with an immortal breath.