Artists have been trying to identify beauty since its concept during the Renaissance in 1520 or so. Webster’s Dictionary hasn’t done a much better job. It says that it is something that pleases the senses or mind aesthetically. That leaves a large area for all the minds of art lovers to pursue. You hear statements like, “I don’t know anything about art but I know what I like.” “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”… …”One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”
Beauty can be inexpensive or expensive. A man who has managed to create beautiful things consistently has little problem making a living,……. usually…..???? Art teachers teach composition and other rules of visual arts. I would tell my art teacher that I didn’t like some examples of the art she was using for an example of beauty. I was told that I hadn’t studied long enough to learn how to appreciate art…….so I am a believer that art and beauty are in the eye of the beholder. Which leads to a very broad audience. But I also believe that beauty is developed with education and time. It is a pursuit of visual exercise and learning to see. Happy accidents happen while in pursuit of beauty……….!!!!!!!! I love it, but they don’t happen if you are not in pursuit. Many rules get broken and many new methods are developed. No such thing as total success, or total failure. Just the need to be consistently in pursuit……….!!!!!! I think the joy of success comes more often but don’t get too confident. Talent may have a hand in the success rate, but I feel desire and hard work play a bigger hand in the final equation.
I listened to a podcast featuring an artist of well renowned reputation. He had been painting beautiful landscapes for a number of years. I had been enjoying his art for a number of years and was looking forward to learning some new tricks. I just knew he would have some great keys to success………It was a little disappointing in some ways but so truthful and encouraging in other ways. He emphasized how hard he works at creating beauty with his paint and has no favorite secrets, just hard work and no consistent secrets. I liked his style; it was strong. I didn’t see anything that I could take home and put into my formula. But I acquired great respect for his art.
I grew up thinking that beautiful was the only way. Ugly was not in and you did whatever to make it beautiful. My children were not allowed to make something that was not beautiful . Wilson came home from college telling me he wanted to make bits and spurs for a living. I told him he had just entered my world and I had some things I wanted him to do. He is still conscious of making things beautiful. My daughter has been exposed also along with my son-in-law and daughter-in-law. It becomes contagious. We all become comfortable with being in beautiful space. My brother Tom is a building contractor (home builder) and has developed a business around beautiful homes that all have his signature. It becomes a natural habit to pursue beauty. The ultimate goal is to create the divine beauty we see in nature every day. However, we know we will never truly attain that level. This is the plight of the artist.