Art From My Heart

Art From My Heart "A rt is a creative skill with a high degree of imagination. One needs to have the final outcome in the mind in some form or other before it gets transmitted to his hand as a series of lines or brush strokes. Art is a magical mystery. It is the magical ability of observing things around us. Not everyone possesses the ability to see and draw. That's why artists are often regarded as persons with a rare God-given talent - the talent of observation and imagination. Art is different than other skills. It is difficult to acquire this skill by learning unless one is really passionate about it and possesses at least some hidden talent of it. Art is not something that can be learned in days or months. It is something to be practiced, mastered and more than anything enjoyed whole heartedly. If one cannot enjoy what he is doing he cannot become an Artist. An Artist is a psychologist who depicts the psychological feelings of things (both living and non-living) in the world. He is the ultimate transformer who can transform pigments of colors into beautiful paintings or even transform a 2mm graphite stick into a beautiful drawing that one cannot imagine. In many ways an Artist is truly a creator. Every art work is different and every finished art work gives a great pleasure to the Artist. Art is the God's gift in one's life. Every child is born with a fresh and blank mind with all kinds of hidden skills gifted by the God. But, not every child becomes an Artist or will possess the skills to become one. I believe the environment and persons around us in our childhood have a strong impact on the personality we develop and the skills we acquire by ourselves. Subjects of Art can be broadly classified into three categories- landscapes, portraits, and objects. Landscapes: Nature is certainly the first and best Artist in the world. It gave us a lot of wonderful and artistic things around us. There has always been more and more in the nature to study and learn from. Portraits: In many ways human being has been one of the central points of Art for centuries. Human face is the hardest of all kinds of drawing. Usually, it is the hardest subject for any Artist. It is very important for an Artist to portray the feelings of human in portraits. The wonder with human structure is that each and every part has its own feelings; variety of feelings. No two human beings or their feelings look alike. Any portrait without feelings is not perfect. Objects: Every object speaks its own language. Through Object Drawing, an Artist typically tries to speak the object's language. To draw an object perfectly, one needs to understand its language. On the other side, Art can be classified into two categories- abstract and detailed. Abstract Art: Abstract Art shows things and feelings in more abstract way, leaving the meaning to its viewers most of the times. Usually, it requires a great deal of understanding of art to understand abstract art. Modern Art is best example of abstract art. This is the art that attracts many people in this modern age. This certainly makes people to stare at it with folded foreheads resulting with a confused and question-mark faces. I just want to share one of my experiences about Modern Art. In 1992, I went to a modern art exhibition on its very first opening day in Hyderabad, India. A prominent writer & poet inaugurated the exhibition. Soon after the inauguration a mob of art lovers started touring the gallery of paintings. Being an enthusiastic art lover, I was also moving along with the writer (who inaugurated the gallery) and the artist (whose works were displayed). I was not only staring at each painting but also attentive to their conversation. They both stopped at one particular painting and the writer stared at the painting for a minute before he asked the artist to explain its meaning. I was also in the same state as the writer was in. After listening to the artist's explanation, the writer said, "wonderful" and quickly moved forward. Of course, the remaining tour ended with no questions asked by the writer. That exhibition left me with the question - "How do you make all of the viewers understand your art and get the same meaning that you tried to convey through your work?" Detailed Art: Detailed Art is the one that shows things in more detailed way, sometimes even like a photographic picture. It requires no knowledge for a common person to understand what the artist tried to show or tell in his/her work. It requires to acquire much skill, several techniques, and perfection for an artist to master this type of art. Art has no limits. It even can go beyond human understanding and imagination. It is difficult to explain how to draw or teach how to draw. Practice is one of the keys to success in any field. In Art, it is the only key to success. My Approach: Realism My approach to art is realism. My Art represents things, people and their feelings around us, mostly the time that they lived in. Repetition is the key to learning. One should practice, practice, and p ractice to become an Artist. And most of all, one should enjoy every line and stroke of his/her work to become a true Artist."   - Giridhar Pottepalem