Art is the ultimate freedom. Freedom to be, to feel, and to let go of thought and immerse in Life.
Yesterday, when I was in El Bosque, painting, something happened that somehow changed the way I see my painting. An extremely nice lady and her daughter walked by the restaurant and something in the tree I was painting stroke her.
She got in, and she asked me “It’s about communication right?”
I had no idea what she was talking about. I really didn’t.
I mean, yes of course it’s about communication, but everything is, right?
The painting doesn’t have any of the usual communication symbols. It doesn’t have any of the body senses symbols… Communication.
But she nailed it.
She reminded me that my art is not about “selling paintings” although it gives me a living. It is all about communication. Like any other art, it talks an unfathomable language upon which I have no control whatsoever.
It is a mystery. An unsolved mystery.
Art comes through us, the painter and the watcher. A link that merges us through time and space.
What painting in El Bosque means to me?
Communication indeed!
And maybe the most subtle of the symbols of freedom: It means I am an artist. And well! The more eccentric and bizarre I am, the better!
Being an artist leads to an off-the-beaten-path route. And interestingly it is everything but lonely.
Although I believe artists must spend long hours in solitude to be in touch with What Is in them/us, we are the ones in charge of the whispering section of heaven… We only whisper three words: “It is possible”.
Every single artist, from the genius of Slash and his prodigious guitar to the guys who painted the bull in Altavista Caves… we are all saying: “It is possible.”
Michelangelo whispers from his breathtaking marbles: “It is possible”. Van Gogh and Beethoven’s intensity are whispering the same… It is possible.
What is possible?
Clearly: EVERYTHING.
And that is enough to break any nut that we may have in terms of limitations.
Art speaks Freedom.
The unfathomable experience of complete freedom.
It is so bizarre! Because even though we don’t know how it works when we are creating, we don’t really decide what we are doing. It is like making a jigsaw puzzle. You are just putting the pieces together. And flying while doing it, in your own personal sky.
No rat race reward can compare even barely to the magnificent flight of “The Zone”.
Like a personal gift from the gods, artists are tied to an invisible line and when you are whispering, you are also being whispered to… “It is possible.”
The Present Moment
It is also about living in the present moment. And discovering at the moment of creating what’s coming out… and truly marveling at it.
Let me give you a great example of this:
Stories are fantastic for that!
I discovered the wonder of ChatGPT a few weeks ago, and ever since it has become a great work tool. If you give the right instructions it gives you precise results.
However, as I started writing this, I discovered the Freedom gift that art is giving to us, the artists. Writing it gave it to me.
Yes, artificial intelligence can give us great things. As receivers. And as a summary of all human talent, it may even stroke inner core triggers and make us feel stuff.
But the gift we receive while creating is personal and sharing it is a matter of true communication.
And true communication is all about Love. And that is a hard thing to imitate or summarize.
Hey Humanity! Freedom is always calling!
