Through the Eyes of an Artist

I am convinced that artists see, smell, and feel things differently than non-artists. It’s not that others cannot see, feel, or hear the same, but their sensory muscles are not in shape.

For instance, when I take a walk along the trail with a non-artist, they will talk about how beautiful things are in a very generic sense. They may make a comment along the way when a bird flies in front of them or will notice when it begins to rain while talking about their appointments and schedules.

When I take a walk, I notice the feeling of the air. I see the shadows on the path and the mist on the water. I hear the rustle in the bush and wait for a fat porcupine to come out and then notice his waddle as he drags his little tail… Yes, porcupines have tails…

When I pay attention to my world, I notice things. The chattering of the chipmunks in the trees as they argue over territory, the denseness in the wood, and the brightness of the open sky. The smell of a muddy swamp. All the greys in the mud. All the greens in a settlement of trees. The shades and forms in plain white clouds. These sorts of things can consume a whole moment of my time and I forget about everything else around me.

One of the greatest pleasures I experience in teaching painting classes to adults is to hear them comment that their eyes are open in a whole new way. They SEE everything differently. They notice the shades and colours. Even though they know there are four legs on a chair, they can only see two because of the angle it is positioned in. The colours in a cat’s eye. The size of the distant mountain compared to the tree in front of them…

Oh, the mystery of the eye! Open it and see. Really, open your eyes and see the beauty and complexity of life all around. Feel the denseness of the fog, the warmth of the sun and the clarity of spring. Smell the lilac and the apple blossom. The sweetness of sap from a dripping maple, and the reek of skunk’s presence.

These scenes are like a language that becomes translated onto a canvas or onto the lines of a song, a story, or a dance. Artists do speak a different dialect… and all it takes is a little time and effort to learn this skill. Open your eyes, your nose, your emotions to what you experience in your day. Put away the clutter of busyness and allow yourself a few moments a day to learn something new.