Artful Living

I see in pictures

October 13, 2009

Ever since I was a little child, I knew that I had a special gift for seeing in pictures. I began drawing and painting at an early age. As one of seven, I am convinced that my art was also a bit of me wanting attention. A dear friend and neighbor told my Mother, “Oh, Jean, she is special, she sees the art before it is done.” My Mom recently shared this with me and it made me cry.

As an artist, a creator of living an artful life, the standard commentary always seems to revolve around one saying to me, “Oh I do not know how you do it?” “I cannot even draw a straight line.”
Very often, I say, I just draw what I see and it is finished before I am done in my mind. If only I could take an instant photo of what I see in my head. It is like I see in pictures.
I was fortunate to learn to dance, to play the flute and to have a parent who listened to those around her and to instill the love of art in me. I truly cannot begin to explain how thankful I am for my passion to see in pictures and then to capture it for others to see. While I am working on an illustration, I will very often get lost in the memory of something, the taste, the smell, the feel and that is the reason why I love what I see, what I draw. Well, I do not always love everything I see, and sometimes that hurt needs to come out too, in the pictures that I see.
If you think that you cannot draw a straight line or were told to not color out of the line, I encourage you to start today. All you need is a pencil, a pen, a paper or even a napkin and just start to make pictures of what you see. Classes are available and most artists need to teach to be better artists. Some artists just need to teach, some need to eat too. If you have someone around you that sees in pictures, surprise them with the gift of art, a class or some supplies.
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