Art, like wine, is subjective. You may be into that kind of art while I’m into this kind of art. Maybe you’re not into art at all…or at least you think you’re not. You’re wrong. Art is music, lyrics, poetry, a painting, a photograph, jewelry, sculptures, woodworking, and even something overlooked like designing your landscape.
Art is the creation of something unique, beautiful, and interesting. It comes from someone’s vision and intent. Art makes people think. It can take people away on a journey. Art tells a story.
The definition of art, based on Google, is: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
I think art goes further though. It is my belief that the tree trimmer and the sanitation worker can be artists too. Art is about intent. It’s about doing something creatively and about making an impact. To me, as I said above, art is about telling a story…which is why we are all artists on some level.
Quite some time ago we had purchased a painting from our friend Adam Welch, a local artist here in Paso Robles. We have enjoyed that painting and recently asked if he could do a custom painting for us. He agreed and after asking me some questions and looking through my Facebook photos he went about creating it.
Annie and I love the ocean. We first met at SeaVenture Resort in Pismo Beach and that is where I proposed to her and where we got married…barefoot on the beach. Adam took our love of the coast, our affinity for SeaVenture Resort, some of my writing, and delivered an absolutely beautiful painting to us. The scene is the view from the deck at SeaVenture Resort. If you look closely he printed out words from blog posts of mine about the place along with bits of the menu of the restaurant at the hotel.
As this new painting hangs in our house I can’t stop looking at it. I’m amazed that a friend of ours did this for us. It tells a story about Annie and I through Adam’s vision and artistic capabilities. The artist took all these raw materials, put them together as only he could, and created something that has meaning. There is not a single thing I would change.
My second story is about our friend Nicole Tietje, another local artist. After chatting on Facebook and over the phone I asked her to make a necklace for Annie, a Mother’s Day gift. She did the same thing that Adam did…she asked me some questions, went and looked at some photos on Annie’s Facebook page, and came up with her vision for the necklace. Nicole created something specifically for Annie. She took the raw materials, each piece had meaning to her and her vision for Annie, and put them together to create this two piece necklace.
The thought and care that she put into it impresses me greatly, as does the thought and care Adam put into the painting. These are two incredibly talented people. I think it adds something to the story that we were friends with them prior to asking them to create art for us. I mean, in a sense they knew us pretty well and then were able to create these pieces for us from that. On the flip side, being friends with someone and then having them create things like this for you is a pretty special thing.
I wrote this because I am impressed with these two people, because they motivated me to work on my art, because I want you to appreciate the art that is happening all around you, and because I want to encourage you to find your art and create…whatever that may be. Like I said earlier, if you’re a tree trimmer or a sanitation worker, do it like no other…that can be your art.
A very big thank you to Nicole Tietje and Adam Eron Welch. Incredible work!
One last note, the Paso ARTFEST the weekend of May 24th is a great opportunity to get out there and support local, aspiring artists. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old but I am starting to think that there is nothing more important than art…especially when you look at it the way I described above.
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