Mew Years?

“Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing, and when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.” Kahil Gibran

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend or a meaningful day.” Dalai Lama

We are now into day two of the New Year. It is officially “Happy Mew Year for Cats Day” and “55-MPH Speed Limit Day.” I love the silly holidays that somehow people manage to get recognized. On this mew year’s day my cat is insisting that I get away from this computer and get to bed or at least sit on the bed so he can sit on my lap.

I’m not one for making hard fast resolutions any time during the year especially at the beginning of the year. What I do tend to do is set out some things that I might like to do in the coming year. I believe one of the reasons why resolutions fail is that we put artificial pressure on ourselves to accomplish something and that we make the goals unreasonable.

One thing I would like to do is learn more about Oscar Wilde. He was a most fascinating man and I love his The Picture of Dorian Gray. He was also a source of some really interesting quotes, some funny, some serious. I especially like his view on artists. Oscar Wilde said on art, “No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.” Someone once criticized one of my pictures because I had never been to the place and the sun wasn’t really at the right angle. They totally missed the entire point of the picture and carped on something that wasn’t relevant at all. If you want a “correct angle” then go take a photograph. Art should be the realization of the vision inside the artist’s mind and set forth in a way to communicate that vision to the viewing audience.

Take the above picture for example. It is called Birches in the Snow. It was inspired by looking at the trees of winter without their leaves and against a background of a snowy field. If you drive around Indiana looking for that view you won’t find it. Inspiration is the jumping off point in an artist’s vision. For me that inspiration can be something I see, hear, or even dream. It is my role as an artist to take that inspiration and turn it into a piece of art that I can share with others.

My art is another thing I will continue to work on this year. Art is one of my joys in life.