Why do you paint?
Michael Guilmet is one of the most philosophical and probing artist I know. Today on Facebook he posted the question: “WHY do you paint? Not when, who, how or who…but in your heart of hearts, when you step to your easel….WHY do you paint?” His question generated a tremendous response from a range of artists explaining their personal reasons for painting. I felt like this dialog was worth sharing.
Michael Guilmet PAINTERS! A question for you…. WHY do you paint? Not when, who, how or who…but in your heart of hearts, when you step to your easel….WHY do you paint?
Cyndi Stewart Why do you breathe?
Mickey Williams an athelete lives to run and jump…an aesthetic person..an esthelete lives to create…
Julia Lundman not sure. i only know that I DO, it’s all i do – i go to work and illustrate stuff all day, come home and work on my own stuff and spend my weekends working on my own creations too. I think painting/drawing/sculpting, MAKING is a language o…f the brain. i prefer visual stimulus more than other ways of thinking and responding. even as a small kid it was easier for me to understand things once they were drawn out rather than talked about. i come from a very large artistic family, also, so perhaps it was my environment/nurture rather than nature.…
Karen Kaapcke Michael, this is The Question. I promise to think about this more, but there is one answer that I come to frequently (I am actually always asking myself why I do this, even as I am doing it constantly) – I have a deep sense that the world …we live in is entirely without meaning, and I have two amazing kids and yet they don’t provide *meaning* (btw, I am NOT a nihilist); the only possible response for me is to make meaning in a way that keeps the very real questioning alive (this kind of meaning wouldn’t mean anything so to speak if it erased the question, and the question wouldn’t mean anything essentially if it could actually be answered). Each and every painting (possibly excepting commissions) is a gesture of meaning-making (my version of the ol’ art-school ‘mark making’ idiom), which of course is over as soon as the painting is ‘done’, and so onto the next one. I started painting during my MA work in Philosophy, almost as a desperate course of action when I kept on bumping up against what seemed to be the futility of language to articulate just about anything really important. (we’re not talking writer’s block here, I was actually writing a ton but it was all rubbish). It is really important to note that this is for me a way of answering questions in a way that keeps the questions very appropriately alive, so I am daily wondering why I paint and daily finding only a very temporary answer in paint. More to come later and I look forward to this thread….I think lol…
Keith Hiscock As a teenager I would look at paintings and say wow, that’s amazing, I want to do that too. I have since find out that the possibilities are endless so continue to explore the potentials and really for me it is the potentials with a road never ending that is intriguing. It doesn’t have to end
Cesar Santos Why do i paint? I will be very simple and logical, I paint because I’ve spent an great deal studying the art & practice of painting, the more i study and practice the more i understand it. It has become my profession. it’s am amazing life…style, it feels great to call the attention the same way that thousands of Masters did before me. but over all, it keeps me thinking and feeling very deeply. I feel inmortal when i paint….
Kevin Mizner At the risk of sounding flippant– It never occured to me NOT to paint. It is an involuntary action to me that is the same as drawing a breath. The day I stop breathing is the day I stop painting.
Artist Helena Hötzl In our moments when we paint or at least mine:))) I can empty myself and fill myself…..its more like a meditation moment for me….my moment of finding myself, painting people that I met and just see whats going on in my life in another p…erspective:))) I love my painting moments….when I look now at older pictures I can see what time in my life I had my divorce or other things…it´s all there in the picture…..what I did have in my mind during those moments……I also paint because I notice that other people like my art…some women find them selves in my art…..:)))))That is the biggest happiness…when people likes my art…that is what makes me live this artist life…..:))))See More
Artist Dreama Tolle Perry Because it brings me joy. Thanks for asking Michael. I could write more, but it distills down to the simplest of things. Joy.
Karen Kaapcke I tried to post this also but some technical issue or other…anyway, in another version it’s also about creating a kind of space, there’s an architectural quality to a painting or any work, be it dance, music or or course actually architec…ture itself – there is a need for dwellings. Esp. the artist I think – maybe meaninglessness can also be translated as a kind of homelessness, and so a painting is a kind of space in which humans can and I believe need to dwell.…
Barry Gross To be honest I paint because it takes me into a world I love and out of a world I’m not crazy about. Painting images people don’t usually want to see in their homes but REALLY RESPOND to and are becoming more aware is why I paint them, PRO…VOKING THOUGHT. Responding to a world that turns their back unless it’s essential, what happened to helping thy neighbor, right next to you. I can do this in painting. Awareness keeps us somewhat focused. I get tired of bullshit and the montetary aspect and try to get to the nitty gritty. People talk about being spiritual but actually showing it is what it’s all about. I love the attention, the tears, the laughter and the recognition. Painting allows me to be in a surreal world I love.…
Hong Yan since I am not a pro, painting to me symbolizes beauty, freedom, romance, letting-go, an escape, a sanctuary away from the daily have- to-do. It is a reminder to observe and take in the moment, a threshold to eternity as meditation.
Carolyn Barcomb Creating helps me process life. Painting helps me see, and connect to a deeper perception. Painting’s my voice, because words are fleeting, and can’t express what I need to say.
Marian Dioguardi I am compelled to paint, to make images. I can not NOT paint. I have always made images. I see paintings that I want to paint. It is who I am as much as what I do. I AM a painter.I am a maker.
Richard Meyer It’s something I chose as a young adult to to give my life meaning. I stuck to it and it became an addiction, but in a good way, because it has succeeded in giving my life meaning. I hope some others will find what I do meaningful, …but that’s a hope, it can’t be a promise. I’ve done it virtually every day for some 35 years and have no regrets. As to why it’s meaningful (that word again!) …I don’t know, possibly by a kind of transmutation of life experiences, however filtered or disguised, into something tangible….
Philip Koch Though painting is mysterious in its purpose and meaning, I just find a deep satisfaction in bringing a new image into the world. These is a pressing quality to reality that needs to expressed. When I see other artists do it well I am moved my the hidden energy they have tapped. It continues to fascinate me after four decades with my oils.
Gary Bourdon It brings me pleasure and although the final product is usually much less than I hoped for / worked for…….it brings a feeling of accomplishment which I apparently need in my life.
Kim Vanderhoek Because I love the mystery. I love going through the process and finding out how the story ends – did it end in a tragic mess or a triumphant jewel filled with color and light?
Stanka Kordic there’s an urgency I have around it, now, that truly never existed in this way for me before..It bubbles up as a need to share what we all recognize in ourselves deep inside, but may not have words for. An unspoken touch of sincerest good will through my hand, to your heart.
Patrice Herbst Wow! What a great thread with terrific answers. I paint & create for almost all the reasons mentioned, but mostly like Kevin M. it never occurred to me I should do something else. Like people remember where they were when Kennedy was shot… or heard about the World Trade Center, I distinctly remember pulling a green cran across paper thinking “That is the neatest thing I’ve EVER seen, I want to do THIS forever.” That was over 1/2 century ago (!) and I still feel that way…
Patrice Herbst Here’s something I wrote years ago and have had on my website since it’s inception in 2000:”For me, art is a rich and passionate love affair, an obsession. It can consume and frustrate, sooth and console. A voice from somewhere deep inside, it is the place where private thought and intense emotion are allowed free reign, and imagination knows no boundaries.” -Patrice Herbst
Tom Schaller painting is the only truly valid connecting thread that i have between my inner and my outer worlds – and when i am fortunate; between my own and those of others.
David Gray In all seriousness, for me that’s like asking a dog why he barks. I’m inclined to paint, I’m compelled to paint. I’m also compelled to breath and eat and sleep. Maybe oversimplified, but there it is…
David Gray Whoa, I just read all the other answers and realized how similar mine is to many others. Can you say “cut from the same cloth?”
Daniel Maidman Throw into the mix that I’ve been drawing since I could pick up a pencil and any reasoned answer I could give you is suspect. I’m close to Tom in some ways. I enjoy very much – and am generally compelled – to make in the world what I can se…e in my head. As an adult, what I saw in my head began to be a reflection of things I saw in the world. So the subject of my work became the minutae of the flesh of my model, as a reflection of the state of their soul. This process of perception of flesh and soul, comes from that which is outward, moves through my mind, and returns to that which is outward. This produces a sensation of intense pleasure and its result produces a sensation of complete satisfaction. Again, totally suspect, given when I started drawing. I suspect the reason is unnamable...
Deidre Riley Because I don’t have anything else to do
Dianne Sutherland Ball I don’t ever think about why I paint….it’s just something that I’ve always done, it was never a conscious decision – almost innate I suppose.
Adriana Isabel Zabala es en el lugar que mejor me encuentro,cocinar y pintar,como pez en el agua es RESPIRAR
Timothy C Tyler Artist Ive always known its what I would be-long before I picked up a brush. As I’ve never felt I had a choice, I simply do what I was borne for.
Alexandra Tyng I have always drawn and painted. I think everyone discovers their form of expression at some point. When I was younger I also liked to write books and compose music, but my energy naturally became focused into making art, I think because vi…sual imagery gives me more scope.
But I do think art is similar to book writing and song writing, in that I can create constellations of meaning, kind of like stories, or at least themes, out of everyday life, and distill them into paintings. Each painting becomes a world, and it is more real than reality to me.
Erling Steen To be honest I think Magritte’s remark is a bit of a smart ass remark. So to be honest painting is the only talent I have that will make me a buck.
Approximately the same thing as Fred Astaire once said about dancing, and it does look quite good doesn’t it?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjCpcqEogQ4
Approximately the same thing as Fred Astaire once said about dancing, and it does look quite good doesn’t it?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjCpcqEogQ4
Stephanie Deshpande I start painting before I get to my easel. As I walk around thinking about things, I try to figure out how to express my ideas and experiences in a visual form. If I were better at writing or music I very well could have been pursuing those art forms. Painting is meditative and challenging. It’s a nice escape.
Brenda-Lynn Hunt When I paint I step into another world of colour and beauty, I let myself be free and I amaze myself constantly… when I pick up my brushes my mind focuses and all else drops away, hours pass as if they are seconds. … I tend to fall in l…ove each and every time with what I am working on. It is not only an expression of what I am thinking or feeling it is a sense that what I am painting is an extension of myself and no better feeling can express that. I am lost without painting and cannot wait to throw myself back into the mix .. each colour how it works together fascinates me .. love painting will never ever stop. I know that sounds a bit gushy but what the heck …. my love of art is akin to me…..
Brenda-Lynn Hunt I think Patrice Herbst’s definition from the year 2000 is exquisite … she captures for me what I find so hard to express. Thanks Patrice.
Steven DaLuzI share many of the reasons mentioned by artists here. As someone said, “I can’t NOT paint.” It’s like a primal need. There is something magical about taking pigments, manipulating them on a surface, to create something that has little pr…actical value other than its ability to make someone feel something…to make them think…to ask a question…to experience a moment of joy…to wonder. For me, the pleasure is in the journey–the dance I savor with the painting itself as it takes form. There is nothing else quite like it. I do not need to “record” what is (I leave that to photographers)…rather, I prefer to “interpret” what I see and feel. Painting need answer no questions, present no political position, nor expound upon a narrative. For me, the pure “beauty” or personal aesthetic of art need not explain anything. At its best, the raw image alone can be enough to pose questions and ignite the imagination of the viewer. And to earn a living doing this?…someone pinch me, please! :)See More
Brenda-Lynn Hunt Fabulous question … thank you!
Sadie Jernigan Valeri For 10 years I did not paint – from about age 23 to 33. I was worried as a young artist because I did NOT feel that intense, urgent need to paint every day, in fact it felt like a chore because I was so confused about what Art was, and I th…ought it meant I wasn’t a real artist. Those 10 years of falling ever deeper into misery and depression finally made me realize I DO have an urgent, do-or-die need to paint or draw every day, but it’s a very soft, quiet voice and my whole life has to be oriented around it to hear it. Making art keeps me sane, but keeping my life sane keeps me making art.…
Bryan Willette I have an itch I can’t scratch.
Steve BinamWhy do I paint ? In each and everyone of us there is a need to express how we feel .And those of us lucky enough to be able to express in paint ,do so with a passion which is our own. from My soul I feel a need to give life to my paintings…. I want them to say something to the viewer. be it a pear or a person made with strokes of paint .I want others to see what I feel,for my paintings are a part of who I truly am.It’s Our Passion! Enjoy It for that is who We are…..
Holly Bedrosian Because I see beauty in the people and things around me, and every time I pick up a paintbrush or pencil I think, “maybe this time I’ll be able to capture that”.
William Harris
08.06.2011 at 13:01Being more of a narrative painter myself, I connect mostly with your comments, Stephanie, about the process before getting to the easel and Carolyn Barcomb’s comment, “Painting helps me to see.” I’ve loved film even longer than I have painting, and it has mostly to do with communicating a story. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but my process always starts with a concept in mind, as oppose to a color or face. At the same time the manipulation of paint has become extremely fascinating to me. Nothing fulfills the creative desire to visualize these concepts for me more than mixing oils, judging their viscosity and applying the layers in unique ways.
Stephanie
08.06.2011 at 15:40I can identify with Sadie’s comment in a way. In 2005 I decided to stop painting. It seemed like not painting would simplify my life. I had a child to raise, I was busy with my job, and I had other priorities. In addition I didn’t feel that having a gallery representation brought anything to my life. I just felt that painting took too much time away from everything else. I thought it made more sense to put my energy into my job. I didn’t start painting again until 2010. At that point, I realized that it wasn’t too hard to make time for it. The only problem is that it takes A LOT of time if you want to be a serious painter. When I see the achievements other artists are making it drives me to paint. I would feel utterly left behind if I didn’t start painting again. I know I would regret it later in life.
William Harris
09.06.2011 at 10:04I can relate to your experience of the previous five years right now. I’ve only completed one painting this year (though I’m almost done with two I’ve been working on for over a month), and I just know I’m not doing enough. Do you foresee yourself making even more time in the future for your art?
Stephanie
09.06.2011 at 10:20For the past year and a half I have been able to paint for a few hours in the evening and over the weekend, but it is hard to keep this up all the time. I am going to try to make more time for my art in the future. I’m not sure how, yet, but I am going to keep up my painting and see what happens. The benefit of working full time, though, is that I can afford art supplies and I don’t have to worry about selling my paintings!
Sim de Pio
11.06.2011 at 01:27I feel each mark that I make is a confirmation that I exist. As the forms, colors, images slowly take shape before me in every moment that passes, wonderment and something greater than confidence or inspiration fills and fires me up.
Stephanie
13.06.2011 at 16:46Sim de Pio, thank you for commenting. I like the passionate view you have of painting. I’m looking forward to see formafuego unfold!
Paola Gonzalez
27.07.2011 at 21:41I paint because Its one of the few things that makes me feel alive!
Stephanie D
26.08.2011 at 20:22I paint in an attempt to hold on to and make sense of fleeting moments, but the result is usually an entirely new creation.