Manifesto on Impressionism Art

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Manifesto on Impressionism Art

What is impressionism? A person once approached me and asked me this pertinent question. My interlocutor was a professional in the field of art and was a highly recognized contemporary musician. In response, I gave him the best answer that I deemed fit and satisfactory. Impressionism is a unique form of art where the artist confines the image of an inanimate or animate object, as the viewer would perceive if he or she just had a glimpse of it. This is of interest to me because, as painters, we capture pictures using a lot of color with most of my productions focusing on outdoor scenery (Walther, & Feist, 2000).

I mainly derive my inspiration from the internationally renowned impressionist artist, Van Gogh. This artist lived more than one hundred and fifteen years ago, but his indelible works of art still reverberate and alter the way humanity perceives aesthetic attributes, personal, individuality and style in art. Many have copied his numerous paintings and drawings depicting the various characteristics but have failed miserably in duplicating any of his works of art. In essence, what is currently considered as the archetypical “artist persona” is to a considerable extent a result of his influence. What is particularly impressive is the fact that even to date, many artists are still trying to mimic what this exemplary artist did over one hundred years ago (Benson, & Bedford, 2000).

I find the artist’s tragic life saddening and shocking. When going through the life and times of Vincent van Gogh, I find it a tragic life that is filled with inherent and contrasting experiences of mental evils and artistic triumphs. The story can be compared to almost similar levels to those of legends. What is particularly pleasing is the fact that this great artist only sold one of his artistic works of art his entire life. This is in contrast to the fact that his works of art are still astounding millions the world over one hundred and eleven years after his death.

I am of the belief that the design of paint will always talk about the artist. Art is a means of expression, where the artist tells of his likes, dislikes, items of interest or attempts to communicate a certain idea. An artist whose life experiences are mainly composed of tragedies and sad moments will more often than not specialize in painting gothic images. On the other hand, an artist who has had a rather successful career will more often than not illustrate this in the paintings. The artists will more often than not use the canvas in just the same manner a writer uses a piece of paper to convey his feelings. With this regard, the analysis of paintings can therefore, be used as a means of telling more about the artist.

I find it interesting that most of the world-renowned artists either have unsound minds, or ended up being crazy at some point in their lives. One particular response to this aspect is that every artist, even those who are considered as the greatest, experiences restriction. Artists are able to perceive the product in their mental capacities but the physical translation of what is in their mental image never depicts a perfect resemblance. Even though the audience may deem it as a splendid and beautiful masterpiece, it is still not the exact resemblance of what the artist visualized. This experience may end up haunting this particular artist every time he or she sees and feels the evident difference.

This haunting feeling becomes even more pronounce when one hears others terming the work of art as brilliant or even worse perfect. The artist may even harbor the feeling or urge of telling the audience that the work of art is nothing near to brilliance or perfect but cannot do so since he or she intends to sell it. This is further compounded when the artist breaks and tells the audience that the work of art is indeed a bogus one. This often leads to him being termed as crazy. I have particularly experienced the feeling whereby I harbor a given mental image but can never perfectly translate it into a piece of canvas. The knowledge that it is an inherent shortcoming that one will carry until death, becomes a grave consideration that often leads to madness. With this in mind, I do not perceive this as an external aspect but one we all artists must experience.

I believe that impressionist art comprises of a simple design that is very clean and clear. One of the key characteristics of impressionist art is that it is clean and has clear contours around the forms. In order to achieve this aspect in most of my works of art, I mainly employ the masking technique in order have crisp, clear and clean lines in my works of art. Due to the inherent water-based aspect of watercolor and acrylic paints, I find every type of oil-based compound to oppose the paint that I apply across it. This results in the masking of the canvas or paint that is applied below. Although oil paint is considered as oil-based, this technique is not effective in acting as a resist. On the other hand, the art of masking using oil painting is enhanced in blocking the paint.

I personally believe that the past never dies or become obsolete but just like the paints, impacts the current lifestyles. Paintings that were done centuries ago are still alive and are being studied in art schools, being auctioned in major museums and still inspiring many upcoming artists. In the same aspect, the lives of those who created the masterpieces together with their experiences in life never die but continue to live in their works. When art students and historians get to read the fascinating lives of artists such as Van Gogh, the artist’s experiences ends up inspiring and influencing their lives irrespective of the time gap between the two.

I personally derive my inspiration from the works and experiences of Van Gogh. His past continues to affect my every day life. If my works of art become an inspiration to people in the next generation, then both our pasts will continue flourishing in the prevailing generations and many more to come. The splendid smile of Mona Lisa was captured on canvas over half a millenium years ago but continues to amaze viewers all over the world. In the same manner that the smile elicited amazing reactions to Leonardo da Vinci, the same smile is still eliciting similar reactions to multitudes of audience today. This is a perfect illustration of how the past has not died but continues to be alive even to the present world.

My mantra in life is “your education is your weapon”. I personally view life’s challenges as enemies with whom we are all in constant battle with. With every battle, there arises the need for the tools of the trade, which are weapons. This mantra is adopted by many other radical and inspirational personalities who have curved out a niche in the present world. Joseph Stalin went to the extent of expounding on this by saying that indeed education is a weapon whose impacts is reliant on the individual wielding the weapon and the item of aim.

As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. In life, one needs the relevant teachings and skills to face the various obstacles that one experiences. These skills and experiences can only be obtained through education. Education does not entirely mean the formal kind where one attends classes but any setting where one is imparted with knowledge. Since time immemorial, people have relied on others for the acquisition of basic skills and knowledge. This is what is termed as proper education. As an artist, I have enrolled in a formal class to sharpen my artistic skills to change the world. Nelson Mandela also concurs with this as he terms education as the most powerful weapon with which one can effectively use in changing the world.

My favorite quote is one of Arab origin that says, “Every day of your life is a page of your history”. This is indeed true because what one has gone through becomes an indelible part of one’s life. How one lives can be told by checking on how one faced every new day. With this in mind, there no important or insignificant day since every day counts just as every page counts in any given novel.

References

Benson, F. W., Bedford, F. A., & PeabodyEssexMuseum. (2000). The art of Frank W. Benson: American impressionist. Salem, Mass: Peabody Essex Museum. http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=q6wRAQAAIAAJ&q=The+art+of+Frank+W.+Benson:+American+impressionist.&dq=The+art+of+Frank+W.+Benson:+American+impressionist.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7IrvTtWzB4_s-gbZqL2JAg&redir_esc=y

Walther, I. F., & Feist, P. H. (2000). Impressionist art, 1860-1920. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Impressionism-Klotz-Peter-H-Feist/dp/3822850535