When I sit to think about what I want to share for the Artist Story blog Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist Grant Artist Story I ask myself what has already been said before and what more can I bring to the table?
I remember connecting with the words written in Life Imitates Art by Tenea D. Johnson about her slow emergence as an artist when she compared her career to the blossoming flower of the Queen Andean Bromeliad.
I think back to the recent article “How a Painting Comes to Life” by Steven Kenny about the process of making an oil painting from stretching and priming to layering and painting.
I outright balled when I read “On Grief” by Andee Scott.
I look at the stories of artists I greatly admire, such as Elizabeth Barenis who captures her thought process, delves into the psychology of perception, and the significance of symbolism.
There are so many talented creatives all sharing their voices. Then I remember the words spoken by the poet, Gregory Byrd, at the 2023 Arts Annual Party before he recited his poem “On Being Asked What I Thought of Neruda’s ‘The Enigmas.’” He mentioned every artist is in conversation with others through time, from the very first markings made on cave walls to the first utterances of sounds.
Pause for paralysis. Fears emerge. Now I am not only grouped with the artists within Creative Pinellas, but the whole world spanning through decades of space and time.
I remind myself to breathe. For the strokes I paint are not there to compete with others. The colors and layers I commit to canvas are placed in harmony; merely and purely contributing to the constant conversation.
