They (whoever they are) say that art is in the eye of the beholder. Actually, the full quote “Art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation,” is attributed to E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly.
Art is subject to the viewer. My preferred style— that which I enjoy and paint—is impressionism. I recently had the chance to visit the VanGogh museum in Amsterdam and I was in my element. To me, impressionism acrylic painting is my paint of choice, though I haven’t dabbled in oils yet. Maybe one day.
My daughter (find her work on Instagram or Facebook), on the other hand, is a committed urban sketching watercolor artist. Neither of us can paint the other style - we’ve tried. It’s not in us. But we love each other’s work and appreciate the time and talent that goes into each piece.
Whatever style you opt to express yourself in, be true to yourself, and enjoy these quotes on art.
“Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” – Pablo Picasso
“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced” – Vincent Van Gogh
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
“Every artist was first an amateur.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas
“Everybody born comes from the Creator trailing wisps of glory. We come from the Creator with creativity. I think that each one of us is born with creativity.” – Maya Angelou
“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London
“Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” – Charles Mingus
“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” – Ray Bradbury
“Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you’re passionate about something, then you’re more willing to take risks.” – Yo-Yo Ma
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton
“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live only as you can.” – Neil Gaiman
“The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.” – Francis Bacon
“To create one’s own world takes courage.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
“There is no must in art because art is free.” – Wassily Kandinsky
“No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.” – Oscar Wilde
“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” – Pablo Picasso
“I want to touch people with my art. I want them to say, ‘he feels deeply, he feels tenderly.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
“I invent nothing, I rediscover.” – Auguste Rodin
“I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” – Vincent van Gogh
“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“Art is not a thing, it is a way.” – Elbert Hubbard
“Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.” – Pablo Picasso
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