Become A Great Artist in Your Own Life

The Art Spirit - You can have it too!

I've often wondered why it was that I felt so good when I visited cities and towns with a depth of art and culture. I love the cafes, galleries, and museums of places like Vienna, New York, London, Paris, and Florence.

One of my most wonderful life moments, believe it or not, was eating a genuine french Pain au Chocolat washed down with real espresso in a small china cup at an authentic french patisserie by the beach in St Kilda, Australia.

A Pain au Chocolate art experience?

Another favorite moment was experienced in the early hours of the morning several years ago when I was living with Josse on a 9 acre farm in Healesville, near Melbourne, Australia - it was a mansion that we rented cheaply because the owners couldn't find tenants as it was so far out of town. Most of the rooms in the house were empty because we didn't have the money to buy furniture, so Josse had this enormous studio that had nothing in it except easels and art.

One evening we were up very late - I think it was about 3am - Josse was painting and there was wonderful music playing. It was then that I noticed something that I can only call “the art spirit”. At some point, it occurred to me that the room was filled with a very special feeling - it was palpable - a great sense of happiness and joy and optimism - and I could feel that it was somehow coming through Josse as she worked.

Since then, I have come to recognize this special feeling as something which is present whenever we are expressing creativity - and that doesn't just mean art. It can happen anywhere from a music studio to a bakery to a company boardroom. I also noticed that this is something which is present when we take risks - when we put ourselves in a position where we could lose something - or gain something. Its as if this energy comes through to help when we really need it.

To me, this is the same force which inspires great art and architecture, which built great civilizations like Greece and Rome and which helped to write important documents like the Magna Carta and the American Declaration of Independence.

When I visited the Musee D'orsay in Paris about 10 years back, I had my first real “art awakening”. I was looking at a Van Gogh Self Portrait when suddenly it was as if the painting was alive - Vincent's head was swimming in waves of energy. I realized then that I was experiencing the same phenomena I had felt when Josse was painting in her studio - except that this painting was created more than 100 years ago and yet I could still see and feel the energy which came through Vincent all those years ago.

Vincent Van Gogh - Self Portrait

I found this wonderful quote from “Art and The Human Spirit” by William Edelen

Winston Churchill was asked during WWII whether he'd consider scrapping the country's arts budget. It is reported that Churchill stared at the questioner, and then yelled,

“My God ... my God ... NO. What have we been fighting for?”

I guess he appreciated the true value of art. I bet he liked good cooking too:)

Winston Churchill

What I have learned through all this is really quite simple:

When we open to a creative challenge, be it painting, baking, running a business, or raising a family, we all have access to a creative force no different from the one which inspired greats like Van Gogh and Michelangelo. The reason we are aware of this so much with art is that artists often have to go to the edge of life to create something new.

If we are willing to be courageous enough we can access this creative force to help us in any area of life. It starts with being bold and adventurous about life.