Learning Art for the Sake of Art

Most people belonging to the academic world believe that art education instills creativity in children. While learning art, they feel that children begin to view the world differently. They start to enhance their skills and attitude towards innovation and creativity. In societies focusing on knowledge, art is the key to growth and prosperity, as it encourages opinions, different thought processes and gives people motivation to grow in their field. An artist can belong to an architectural firm, marketing or advertising firm, politics, economics, and even law enforcement. They develop their skills to think deeply about any particular subject and bring their thoughts and ideas into their work.

A person with artistic skills would be culturally sensitive and held in high regard. An art education affects the mind positively and lets your brain exercise through different thoughts like perceiving history, culture, tradition, colors, shapes, alignment, and lines. It can even enhance your performance in other academic subjects as mathematics, science, and reading, as art can keep your mind more prone to solve complex problems and situations. 

 Why Art Education is so Important

 An art education is important because it can strengthen a student’s academic performance. A student would get a chance to learn and foster their creative ability and develop a habit of having a clear mind, and social skills necessary to today’s thriving societies. Unfortunately, the value of art and its education is slowly becoming less important with time, as more and more profitable studies are trying to make their mark. Art and its education are not as important as it was before. Along with people, artists need to justify their importance and presence in schools from an early age. 

 The education system worldwide also needs to educate about the skills required for any child if he or she aspires to become an artist. It is necessary to identify these skills and polish them in children. With skills like drawing and painting, a child would also be able to improve their writing skills and improve their judgement. Color and its psychology help the brain to exercise and develop clear thinking patterns without being cluttered.  Art also helps anxiety, stress, and mental health.

 Learning Art in School

 There is no doubt that art is closely linked to creativity and innovations. Those students who have developed and enhanced their art skills have the potential to be very sharp and think differently. They can now easily think of new ideas, as they have practiced this skill while learning about art and thinking of new ways to integrate color or make interesting artworks. Creativity and innovation rely on a broad range of skills, as measured by today’s competent professionals. There is no doubt that scientists, developers, entrepreneurs, practitioners, and technological users and innovators have had the means to use innovative thoughts in their fields. Art helps us define the use of content and knowledge. As we use art and its related subjects, we begin to identify problems, understand their limitations, make connections, collaborate, and communicate with our thoughts and ideas. These are the set of skills that a child can easily develop if he or she is introduced to art as a subject, so that they may begin to develop these skills in some disciples and become future leaders of tomorrow. 

If you want to know and learn more about the fundamentals of art as a subject, we may suggest the book ‘My Hyperrealist Life and Legacy’ by aspiring artist Carole Feuerman. She outlines her inspiration and passion for art and how she was able to pursue her passion. She eventually developed and learned the skills of becoming a famous renowned artist, and now her artistic works of sculptures are displayed in famous museums and art gallery exhibitions. 

Important Things to 
Learn in Art Creativity

 Art is something that belongs to everyone. Anyone who wants to test their imagination to create art is welcome to do so with an open mind and an open heart. Art can easily be learned, and some people are even born with the talent of creating or making art. The field of art is very diverse and there are many different forms of art . To name a few, there are paintings, photography, sculpture making, digital animation, acting, and much more. In simple words, art can be an idea, an imagination, an expression or a representation of history or culture. For most people, art is taken as an idea that belongs to everyone. It can be found in any culture or history in any era, and then an artist brings it in a physical form. 

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The Importance of Art in the Eyes of an Artist

 Artists can use their talents or creativity by using emotions, aesthetic, or psychological thoughts that they encounter in life. They are pretty good at keeping their thoughts aligned while creating art from a simple thought process. Most artists can make the best use of their emotions and aesthetic sense to create art, which can be astonishing. Many can learn much about art by practicing it. For some, it comes naturally to them. Practice and lessons learnt in the pursuit of art can easily educate you about the important things in artistic creativity and make you a better artist. 

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Art is not Separate from Life Itself

 Most people fail to understand that art is not separate from life. Almost everything that we experience in life, is an expression of art. For example, the color shades we see in clouds, the sea, trees, flowers, landscapes, and even nature can teach us a lot about art and its creativity. Art is even in the very description of ourselves and even in the lives that we lead. Many artists have been creating art in paintings, photography, materials, objects, architecture, sculptures, and much more. Still, they are intrigued to find out more about its phenomenon. Most artists worldwide, are trained to learn the important things in artistic creativity, but some are born with a natural tendency to learn and discover the creative things in art and follow their passion. Many would go an extra mile and beyond their limitations to pursue their passion in art, just like Carole Feurman did to learn about art and create real look-alike sculptures of dancers, swimmers, and many more. 

Learning about Creativity in Air

It can be necessary for an artist to learn how to achieve creativity in art from a professional art school. They can learn about art education, history, culture, different famous artists in the past, and what distinguished them from contemporary artists. They can also reflect on how they understand art and its creativity, which is an extension of our daily culture and life. Artists need to understand that art is everywhere around them to see and perceive it from a different in-depth perspective. For naturally gifted artists, they have a different way of seeing and analyzing art. The way they see it, make it, look at it is ever-evolving. 

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It is also important for the artist to understand that art transforms itself with every passing era, culture, and history, especially in making and representing itself. It is always important for an artist to learn, analyze, search, know, and doubt on achieving creativity in art itself. One needs to understand the details and processes of art creation intimately. That is why imitation has always been an integral part of art creation. As for the artists, they need to assimilate and combine their psychological, aesthetical, and emotional senses and then organize them to create art to give meaning to it. It requires skill and practices for an artist to do that. However, once an artist learns how to achieve that, there is no stopping them from creating the most amazing art piece.

To explore the essential elements of artistic creativity, read ‘Carole A. Feuerman: 50 Years of Looking Good,’ written by the renowned artist Carole Feuerman. In this book, Feuerman shares the story of how she was inspired to pursue art and reflects on the profound ways in which art enriches our lives.

Reasons Why Artists Can Be Hard to Understand

Did you ever feel that someone is simply from out of this world? It’s a fact that we are all unique in our own ways, but if we pay close attention to artists, we can all agree that they belong to a category which can be characterized and studied in a certain way.

Artists have a special ability to express their feelings, impressions, and memories through a different type of art, and we genuinely appreciate what they do, but that does not get us any closer to understanding them, right? Therefore, this article highlights why artists are difficult to handle compared to people in general. 

1)    They have a creative mind

The fact is, artists don’t have the same deduction system or system of values as others, and that’s the reason why we find it hard to understand or follow their train of thought. Also, their minds tick a bit differently than the average person’s, because diverse details move it.

2)    They think of their work as their children

It’s imperative to find a way to appreciate their work if you want to get close to an artist. If you have a problem understanding it, I’m sure you will get an explanation (and don’t discuss with how reasonable it is) if you ask for one.

3)    They are irrational and emotional when in love

Artists usually look like they are gliding above the earth, but when they fall in love, they are almost flying. Be sure they will do anything to show their affection – in a different way. Also, you better not be there if things don’t turn out the way as they planned, because they can fall into deep anguish really quickly.

4)    They express through codes

Speaking of emotions and feelings, the artist tends to express them through their art. That is how they communicate. If they give a piece of art to you, spend a lot of time around you or give you substantial looks you don’t fully understand, you should know they are just trying to show that you are important to them.

5)    Some artists prefer not to be understood

It is one of those irritating characteristics of some artists. They live in their world, and you should be positive that they like it there, so don’t even try to move them or place them in the real world, because not a single artist will like it there.

6)    Some artists find it hard to adjust

Which brings the discussion to the next point – if you do move them from their place, don’t expect them to fit in. Also, you might run into a social butterfly (there’s a small group of them which act like that), but the chances are very minimal.

In conclusion, they can be difficult to understand or handle, but that’s nothing you can’t figure out with just a bit of patience. We hope you’ll find these pointers insightful. Remember they contribute to making our world a better, and more beautiful place to live in. 

Why Art is So Important for Some People by Carole Feuerman

Some people are born with a natural tendency to love and admire art. They appreciate the colors in different things around them and develop artistic skills from a young age. These people start to take interest in art, coloring, and painting to fuel their curiosity and then finally form a lasting passion for art. Furthermore, they try to find new ways to practice their art skill and learn about the different range of options they can draw, color, or paint. 

Many artists worldwide develop key concepts and enhance their learning of art and how things can be portrayed, examined, or influenced through art. In more ways, they try to take inspiration from anything that they can find and draw it on the canvas. It is not just about drawing or painting for them. Some of these artists can even use stone, clay, or even thrown away garbage to make something interesting. They have a thought process that can quickly comprehends different complicated things and turn them into something interesting. Artists are always confident, responsible, reflective, innovative, creative, and equipped for success. They can use their imagination, expression, and thinking to create some of the most beautiful and thought-provoking masterpieces of art.

 The motivation for an Artist

The best motivation for an artist is to take inspiration from different aspects of the world and get influenced by it, whether politics, freedom of expression, culture, social issues, a representation of an idea or an expression, or for just bringing about change. They can express such aspects through the use of art, and people would appreciate them as the most difficult or complicated subjects. 

 Qualities of an Artist

There are many different qualities of an artist, but the best ones, which are most important are:A deeper understanding of the things and subjects that revolve around them, such as thinking and analytical skills to include critical thinking and problem-solving. Able to present complex and sophisticated subjects more easily through art. Independent ability to analyze and look at things from a different perspective.

 Artists view the world differently, which isn’t something which can be done by an average person. However, they need opportunities to develop their art practice, enrich their learning and understanding of the key concepts in art, and use their new skills. 

There are many different branches and areas in the art that an artist can choose from, depending upon their abilities. They range from painting, coloring, sketch drawing, sculpture making, photography, digital designing, video, and much more. 

Unfortunately, artists around the world are given less importance to their work than they should deserve. They can spend most of their time making the most intriguing artworks, but they may not appreciate it or deserve recognition. The reason is that nowadays, many modern and aesthetic forms in art have been introduced to discard the traditional works of art. 

 New Opportunities for Artists

However, artists can still accommodate a wide range of skills and abilities by using different concepts to represent their art. They need to enhance their skills abilities in art-making to fully to portray their thought processes successfully to the general public. They can experiment with other ideas in two and three-dimensional processes, take on risks, and challenge themselves to create something awe-inspiring. They can also learn now how to design develop their technical skills through software programs in digital designing and develop improve their artistic style with it. If you want to learn more about art and its fundamental aspects, you can read my inspiring monograph ‘Carole A. Feuerman: 50 Years of Looking Good.’ I am an artist who has made the best use of my skills and abilities with through sculpture. I am one of the three founding members of the hyperrealist movement that began in the late 1970’s and continuing into the present.  My career is highlighted by iconic figurative works of swimmers and dancers.  I have taught, lectured, and given workshops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Solomon Guggenheim Museum.  In 2011, I founded the Carole A. Feuerman Sculpture Foundation. My artworks are owned by eighteen museums, as well as in the collections of the City of Peekskill New York, the City of Sunnyvale California, President and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Frederic R. Weisman Art Foundation, Dr. Henry Kissinger, the Michael Gorbachev Art Foundation, the Malcolm Forbes Magazine Collection. Feuerman’s public works have been displayed across the globe, including but not limited to: Central Park, and Petrosino Square in New York City,  l'Avenue George V in Paris, Harbour City in Hong Kong, Giardino della Marinaressa in Venice, New Bond Street, London and Knokke Heist in Belgium. 

How to Make Paintings Look More Realistic

When it comes to painting, if you want to make your work look more realistic, irrespective of the style you paint in, this is what I recommend. If you don’t want people to feel left doubting what you have actually painted, you might want to paint realistically. It is imperative to note that painting realism does not mean senselessly copying what you see. But, it’s about using your creative license to change the subject in the painting while maintaining the quality of realism. Therefore, this article highlights a few essential tips to make paintings look more realistic.

1)    Get the Color Values Right

Color values are the most important tip when it comes to creating more realistic paintings. Value in painting is how light or dark a color is, and it is extensively considered to be one of the central elements of a painting. Besides, if you are able to paint with precise values, then your painting will have a quality of realism irrespective of how correct your colors, edges, shapes, and other elements are.

2)    Use Soft, Hard, & Lost Edges

In painting, edge transitions from one shape to another, and edges are categorized as hard, soft, or lost. The hard edge is for a crisp transition between two shapes, whereas soft edges have some gradation between the shapes to make the transition smooth.  On the other hand, a lost edge where the edge is so soft that you can hardly see it. It usually occurs when there are two shapes next to each other having the same color. Also, lost edges don’t give you much information about the subject form. 

3)    Focus on The Important 

It is suggested to identify a few things that most interest you about the subject you are painting and be extremely specific. It could be the light bouncing off or any impressive shape arrangement. Typically, there are only 1-3 things that really interests you about a subject. So, just focus on painting those things and try to simplify the rest.

4)    You Might Not Want Visible Brushwork

Visible brushwork is the most interesting aspect of a traditional painting; however, you will need to learn how to use an airbrush. An airbrush is a small, hand-held instrument connected to a canister of compressed air that sprays paint in a controlled way giving an even and consistent surface. Artists and illustrators often use airbrushing to create a high level of realism. 

5)    You Will Need to Learn How to Copy from Real Life 

It is incredibly helpful to have a model or a still life, or a landscape in front of you while working on your picture. This reference will help you enormously.

6)    Question What You See

Sadly, our eyes often play little tricks on us, and what we believe we see is not actually what is there. It is most apparent in color and value. Therefore, question what you see to make your paintings more realistic. 

In conclusion, you must learn how to visualize like an artist. Besides, break everything down into fundamental elements like edge, shape, color, and line. For instance, instead of painting just anything, paint the shapes, edges, colors, and lines to make your painting look more realistic. 

Why Do We Need Peace Of Mind

Harmony and peace of mind is one of the fundamentals for finding a complete and happy life. Besides, we feel more confident and full of energy when we have inner peace! It’s a state when we are attentive, balanced, and conscious. Being in tough situations or circumstances that are not comfortable for us, we got disturbed, and peace begins to leave us. However, having resumed classes that can help us find inner silence, life gradually improves again. Also, many people pass through this phase and with this we can conclude: “If you don’t have time for rest, it means that it is necessary for you.”

Why do we need peace of mind?

Peace of mind teaches us to be in accord with oneself and with the whole world and talks about striking a balance. If you compare the soul with a musical instrument, then the inner calm state is when the strings of the soul sound naturally and harmoniously. The sound is pleasant and soothing for everyone! But when you are tense and fussy, the music will be unnatural, strained, and unpleasant.

When we have peace of mind, we are full of positive energy and in a good mood! Also, we efficiently manage to resist the sickness and bad attitude of others, and we perform better at doing any work. Peace makes us more creative; we investigate better and solve problems faster. When peace of mind is gone, we get out of balance,  and the energy drops, we attract illness and depression. During this internal stress, we do not get much of what we would like, and we commit more mistakes.

Every time we get angry, fuss in vain, or fall into depression, etc., we seem to spill negative energy from our vessel of the soul. When we are happy and balanced, we give off positive energy. Therefore, think twice before the next time, carelessly, you get out of yourself, start to get angry, nervous, think negatively, speak, and fuss about it in vain.

Peace of mind is a natural state for anyone; that’s why it is so essential and desirable for us! When it goes away, we begin to experience uncertainty and discomfort. Besides, on the subconscious mind, we desire to return to this state. Just be yourself or take a walk in the garden to restore spiritual harmony.

Many times, this inner peace is confused with lethargy, apathy or laziness. But it is not the case! You can make an external activity while maintaining inner peace. If you wish to protect yourself from adversities, you have chosen the wrong planet. Instead of protecting yourself from such problems face them with a peace of mind and move on!

How to Relieve Stress with Art?

Although art therapy is its own field, you can also use self-directed art to express your creativity, reduce stress and stay connected to your feelings. Most of us have intuitively understood the power of art since we were young: almost all children know the fun of sculpting things with plastic, drawing things with fingers or drawing with crayons and other materials.

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” – Aristotle

From painting to writing and to dancing, creative activities make our life fun and interesting. But do you know that art is so powerful and calming that it can be used as a therapeutic tool? Yes, you heard it right.

According to the American Art Therapy Association (2008), art therapy involves creative processes of art making. It aims to improve physical, emotional, and mental well-being. This applies to people of all ages. 

The growing interest in holistic approaches to treatment has increased. This has led to the belief that expressive arts can be effective for overall human health. They contribute to wellness. As mentioned in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, ‘art therapy supplements the biomedical approach. It focuses not only on the symptom and the disorder. It also addresses the holistic nature of the individual.  

In addition to random noodling in the blank spaces of the page, if you are like most adults, you may not express yourself in art like you did when you were a kid. You may not think you have any "talent" in artistic creation, or you may not believe it's worth your time, but art is really a valuable pastime. Even for those who don't think they have artistic tendencies, there are many reasons why art is an excellent stress-reducing tool. Therefore, this article highlights how creating art can help reduce stress. 

1)    Self-Care

Sometimes, because of the responsibilities of our daily lives, we forget that we need and deserve alone time and self-care. Spending a few minutes regularly to focus on a hobby can give you more needs in the field. With art, you have the added benefit of leaving something beautiful (or at least interesting) on display.

2)    State of Flow

Some psychologists describe mobility as an activity addiction. Similar to meditation, flow can enhance performance and reduce stress levels. When you practice musical instruments, do sports, garden, write, draw or paint, you may experience flow.

3)    Mind Clarity 

Creating art can clear your mind off of whatever is stressing you, at least for some time. Also, it's difficult to keep contemplating on your problems, especially when you're focused on creating art. If your issues stay with you, incorporate them into your artwork. Once you are done, you should have a clearer mind with which to tackle your problems again.

4)    Sketchbooks

Maintaining a sketchbook is the easiest way to relieve stress. It could be a form of journaling, and like journaling, it can be purifying, stress-relieving and creative. 

5)    Gratitude

Some people keep a gratitude journal to write what they are grateful for. Therefore, personalize your gratitude journal by sketching the faces of those you love, places you like, or other things that you are thankful for. The process of drawing can be a great stress reliever, and revisiting the creations can also bring you some peace for the future.

In conclusion, if you are still overwhelmed by stress and it starts to obstruct with your daily life, talk to your doctor. They may recommend a therapist who can offer support and techniques for managing the stress.

How Artists Find Peace In The Art

How do you respond to frustrations or setbacks with your work? For people who belong to the art industry, this question is especially important. Many artists work alone, and they keep creating new work. Making new work creates pressure, especially when this involves personal expectations.

The Two Extremes

Every artist tries to produce their best work and to reach different levels of skill. If it's done reasonably, then it's fine. But problems occur when artists attach their well-being to the outcome. It creates a desire for reward or recognition of some sort. And such artists put their work into the world for authentication from someone or some other entity. 

On the other side are artists who are too dreadful to show their artwork. They are not trying to get reward or recognition and doing everything they can to escape anyone judging their work. Whether it's sensible or not is beside the point.

Perhaps some of them secretly desire recognition. But such artists do not have the confidence. Besides, they can always find an excuse to avoid portraying their work in front of the public. They have this fear that people will laugh at their art or that their work is not good enough.

The Power Game

Those artists who take negative feedback personally are going to suffer from it. Perhaps, they blame themselves and lose confidence. They think that they are not ready to put their work out there in public and give up. Rather than becoming stronger from experience, it weakens them.

The artists are disempowering themselves when they give control of their self-esteem and well-being to a third-party. They need to understand that judges are people who have their own feelings and responses to somebody's work. Also, in almost every instance, there is no personal involvement. They are making a judgement on the basis of their own reasons, and they don't mean to attack an artist personally.

For artists to remain empowered and in control of their well-being, they have to disconnect themselves from the result. Also, this attachment to reward and recognition is not the only way to approach the creative process. Both of them are entirely diverse from each other.

Control What You Can

Every artist needs to distinguish between what he/she can control and what they can't. Once they distinguish, they make the correct decision. Besides, they should let go of what they can't control. It will bring more peace of mind and focus on the overall creative process. Also, it's about making the art that you can control. 

Conclusively, every artist has the power to improve their artwork, to work smart and to learn new things. However, the only way to relish competition is to take it as a learning experience. Remember, if you are successful and get the recognition that you were hoping for then you should be grateful and humble. Cherish it and let it go.

Challenging Situations Artists Face And How To Solve Them

Sculpture Broken In Transit

CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS AN ARTIST

Let’s look at an artist’s artwork that is gaining popularity every single day. Due to high competition, most artists work alone. They experience challenges. At times, they feel lonely. Nonetheless, we as a society, must learn to appreciate and support artists in all facets. Thus, this article highlights some of the common challenges faced by artists worldwide.

1)    Finding Aspirations

Many times artists find it hard to find their aspirations. They don’t have enough capacity to create everything perfectly all the time. Sometimes, they need aspiration to make perfect art. It is advised to avoid any mental consumption. This allows the artwork to take over your soul. It can transform you into a more profound person. 

2)    Keeping Up With The Talent

Keeping up with talent is the two-edged challenge every artist experiences. Still, talent or skills never vanishes and never fades away, but it needs continuous practice. There can be different levels of your talent. If you reached an advanced level and stopped practicing, you become a beginner again. It feels like you're starting all over. Also, that would be a nightmare to any person, because of every single improvement counts, big time. So, keep on practicing, you amazing artists and believe that your talent has no limits.

3)    Self-trust

Being an artist, you relate to the feeling that you are not creative enough. Also, the definition of creative can be different to different people. Thus, it is essential to understand your definition of creativity. Many artists feel that they are not good enough after comparing their work with others. They also feel this way because they have been in the field for quite some time. Hence, you must trust your artistic skills and show what you have to the whole world. 

4)    No Response

Exploring your target audience can be challenging; that’s for sure. We all sometimes fear not getting enough response we’re dreaming of. Nonetheless, we shouldn't rely on it. We know it can be hard sometimes. Feedback plays an essential role, especially at the beginning. Still, that’s not the only indicator for your talent or success. So be ready for getting no response some times. 

5)    No Sale Plans

Adequate planning is the path to sales. Your plans can help you concentrate on the mission and allow you to reach objectives faster. Nevertheless, without a plan, you will not sell enough. It is as well significant to check how others are selling their work. Today the galleries and malls are not the only sale points. There are other platforms, like social media, where you can upload and sell all your work.

In conclusion, the solution to such challenges is to realize that your work is perfect the way it is. Also, the key is not to perfect something all the time. The key is enjoying the journey. Nevertheless, by spending some time on these challenges, any artist can overcome such challenges.