5 Life Lessons I've learned from Art
Welcome back to Off The Record!!! This subject of life lessons that I've learned or metaphorically have come from art has been something I've been thinking about a lot. Yes it could be that I've been watching too much Bob Ross! But these little things that I recognize in my art seem to continuously relate to life in general.
Now considering the worlds circumstances, life has been very hard on a lot of people. So I hope to stay positive with you as we think about these 5 Lessons!
1. CONTRAST- There is no light without dark🌃
Contrast in painting is so important because it really brings the picture to life, gives it more of a realistic feel, and adds dimension. I think about contrast a lot when I'm painting.
Life: Relative to life, often it is the contrast of good and bad times that make us live more fully and present in the now. So if you're going through some dark times keep on going, light is just around the corner ☀️
2. Changing your perspective will change your entire outlook on the overall painting or picture.
Many times, I have to step back from a painting to see that something is out of place. Maybe you even remember your high school Art teacher telling you this...
It's so easy to get caught up on the little details and forget about the BIG picture. A little smudge up-close is a pain in the ass, and makes you wanna scream and throw your painting out the nearest window. But step back or step aside and maybe it isn't so bad after all. Maybe it even adds a little texture to the overall piece. I rarely look at mistakes in art as MISTAKES. Because a lot of the time they can be blended, layered or built upon.
Life: Don’t get caught up on the little smudges & forget the big picture of life.
Going more into perspective: There are a lot of little & big things that have changed my life when I looked at them differently.
A quick example of this revolves around my world in relevance to Social Media. For me, Social Media was once a place of jealousy, self-hate, & insecurity. I would only post pictures on vacation, relaxing on the beach, dressing up for a night out, or a special holiday.
Is this really all the moments I want to capture of my entire life to show and cherish?
I realized I was doing a lot more than going on vacation once a year, and why should I be afraid to show that?
ALSO I was only connecting with the people I was ALREADY CONNECTED WITH: my friends from high school, college, and my family...
But news flash hit me when I realized there is a whole WORLD on social media so why are we only connecting with people we already know?
Mind = Blown
That's when I started my Art account and suddenly social media was more about inspiration, motivation, and connecting with people that have the same interests as me.
I think it’s the best of both worlds to have a personal account for friends, family and your current community. But also have a second account to connect with the rest of the world. Because there is a world out there with other people in it, which I obviously didn’t take into much consideration until now.
3. Nothing is just 1 color
So you're going to add some trees to your painting, what color do you grab? Green, duh. You finish your green tree and have a look at it. It looks good... like what we would symbolize a tree as, but doesn't look too realistic or interesting. Well damn maybe you should just give up on painting all together.
WAIT THO!!!!!! 🖐
Take a moment to really think and understand that trees aren't just 1 solid green color. Like the picture above nicely shows: (not only just in the fall) do trees have hints and highlights of white, yellow, orange, darker green, lighter green, OR a color made by mixing these colors making an ENDLESS possibility of colors!!! It's all about the mix of those colors that make looking at it beautiful.
Life: Nothing is what is seems, nothing is 1 color. This can sometimes be a disappointing realization. Life, love, relationships: they are more complicated than just that. They are a mix of colors. Coming from myself who is a super naive person: Don't let anyone fool you into thinking their life is one color because it just isn't.
4. Mistakes aren't detrimental. There are ways to make up and learn from your mistakes
Never in my life have I thought of mistakes as "happy accidents". When I spill an entire glass of red wine on my new pants I'm not happy. When I run my mouth and tell someone something I shouldn't- they're not happy. So what the f is Bob Ross talking about?
But then I started painting and creating. With painting, I'm able to remind myself: "okay if I mess up on this piece or it turns out to look like shit, I can just paint over it and start again!" Next time I'll know to start this differently.
Life: Maybe life isn't THAT simple. But in many ways you do have full control over your life. If you want to start over as I often do when I get frustrated with a piece, there are definitely ways to do that. Once you make a mistake, you learn how to avoid it the next time around. All that's wasted is time- it's precious but if you're lucky you have a lot more of it everyday!
5. Thinking about producing something in layers
When creating a piece from scratch, I have actually sat down and thought of this scene from Shrek because I’m super weird. "OGRES HAVE LAYERS" and I often think of my artwork as having layers.
There's the background layer, the foreground, the additional details, the imagery, the lettering, the finishing touches, the acrylic spray coat etc. To me, thinking about things in layers when it comes to design makes them easier to process in my lil brain...
Life: Thinking of life in layers is cool to me. When I think of my past, it feels like a different life and a different person sometimes. But reminding myself that I am the little girl I once was, makes me feel a little more complete, takes me back to my beginnings, and reminds me of the things I once loved. I feel it's important to remember who you once were & to not lose touch of the layers that make up who you are.
So take some time this week to look through old dusty, smelly pictures, videos, journals, writings, toys, crafts, cook books, or whatever it is that brings back memories of your old self!
Reconnect with that old friend of yours, and bring em back to life a little. Show them appreciation for where they've brought you.
Let me know what you find and thanks for coming on a journey through my brain as I describe my life lessons that I've learned from art :)
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Off The Record!