“There may be days or weeks where life can take its toll, and art finds its way to the back burner. But choosing to pick yourself back up and create again is a bold and courageous act. For me, art is something I will always pursue, no matter how many other endeavors I may partake in, I’ll always have my art.”
“Anyone can enjoy being an artist! There is no prerequisite. Children do it all the time (even masterfully). Art is play and adventure. As adults, we get trapped in whether or not something is “good enough”. Art is not about skill, or even if it is good. Art is for enjoyment purposes.”
“My painting teacher once said to me, and I think it’s so true, that there’s only one profession that is harder to teach how to paint than doctors, and that is engineers. Now, engineers want to get every line straight, they’ll get a protractor out and they’ll get every angle straight. But doctors are not far behind.” – Homer Chin
“…I actually went to a basement in Savannah, Georgia when I was doing research on my own family. And all the black records are in the basement and all the white records are up in the courthouse. And the black records are falling apart and they’re moldy…” – Cheryl Ehlers
“I start with the color and create a background. For example, if it’s a mysterious feeling I’ll use purple. And then whenever I’m ready (and this is after I’ve had the feeling for a while) I start painting layers while the feeling is running its natural course. As I come to a closure with the feeling, the layers unravel.” – Kibbi Linga
“…Arts is basically the first thing to go when they do budget cuts. And it’s sad because it’s such a huge thing in young people’s lives, even if they’re not growing up to be artists necessarily.”
“…I had a mentor, an art teacher who was very influential in my life. And he’s the one who said to me, “You cannot call yourself an artist just because you’re going to school and doing things. You cannot call yourself an artist unless you always have something you are working on.” I was 15, and that really stuck with me up to these days.” — Bea Gold
“…I feel like the word ‘erotic’ has a few different meanings. But I see it as very empowering energy. And something that isn’t harnessed by the public.”
After speaking with several artists, I quickly realized that writing their stories in the blog is not going to be enough. They need to be heard.