One in Every Crowd...a celebration of self...and small chicks

One in Every Crowd   oil/canvas   8 x 24 x .75

 What a wonderful notion it would be if each person, each artist, was able to grasp the beauty and strength of his or her own uniqueness!  Gone would be the petty jealousies, the competition and the rivalries, both outright and hidden, that plague us.  No more "he's got something that I want".  Instead, "I'm good with what I have.  It's different than what she has.  It's all good".  Going along with the crowd, understandably perpetuates cultural mores that provide for a smooth functioning of society.  Eliminates snags and questions.  But, in my opinion, it is only when we think for ourselves that we can rid ourselves of the standards of the "other", that we can make choices that are emotionally viable for ourselves as well as others, that we are able to arrive at a sustainable balance.  Question reality.  Our own self-made reality is as good as it gets.  It is when we feel good enough about ourselves and our own work that we are able to appreciate the work of others, even though it is different from our own.

Something to work towards.  A celebration of self.

Discipline is Freedom...

One in Every Crowd   oil/canvas   8 x 24 x .75

said Garth Fagan, the Tony award-winning choreographer of "The Lion King".  "Study the rules before you break them".  Quotes of this nature abound.  Probably because they are so true.  When you study your craft so very much that its nuances become part of your nature, it is then that you can begin to play....true play from which creativity springs forth.  Yes.

A few weeks ago, the program at my local art club was about breaking the rules.  I was unable to attend that evening.  Sometimes, in breaking the rules, we are more able to completely say what it is that is felt.  "One in Every Crowd" is a case in point.  A painting about chicks, sweet chicks.  And also a painting about following the crowd, or not.  I chose to paint my independent chick a different color and to put him facing a different direction than the others.  These changes made the painting more interesting to me, and also made the painting more interesting and challenging to paint.