New Year. New Hope. New Art!

“So, this is Christmas, and what have you done, another year over, a new one just begun.” These song lyrics by the late, great songwriter and musician, Beatles band member, and visual artist, John Lennon, ask the eternal question we as humans should ask ourselves every year at this time. Especially those of us who are artists. And this particular year, with the onset of the worst pandemic in a century, the answer to this question is of utmost importance. What have we done?

My answer, and I would imagine most of our answers would be, we survived. Given the extreme circumstances of the past year, that in itself is an accomplishment. The old positive thinking adage that “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is difficult to adhere to when the lemons can seriously alter your existence. As a creative person, I looked to the inspiration of John Lennon, who was the eternal optimist. I painted, not just images, but images that had some meaning regarding the COVID pandemic that may help my fellow humans outlook on the situation. For in my humble opinion, that is the role of artists, to try to communicate something positive in the face of adversity. Artists have been doing this for eons of time. Even the prehistoric cave dweller paintings on the walls where they resided, I believe were a way to face the adversity of their environment and circumstances of their lives. They had hope. And it showed in their artwork. Which communicated that to the community of their fellow humans. Hope springs eternal or so the saying goes.

Each trip around the sun on this tiny speck of dust we live on, in the vast universe encompassing it, offers an opportunity for hope. Many of us make new year’s resolutions in the hope of changing something in our lives that we feel will improve our existence. The longest of human life is but a mere whisp of a breath in the grand scheme of time. So, we have got to make the best of it! Right? The great English Prime Minister, Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, “I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.” And in his time, the world was experiencing a brutal world war driven by a psychotic madman. England bore the brunt of many devastating bombings and battles brought on by that madman. But hope endured in the world, and ultimately the madman was defeated. A lot of great art was produced during that time as a way to help people cope. Visual, written, and musical creations.

A new year brings a hopeful sense of change and overcoming. As a painter my hope for the coming year is that my creative spirit will stumble across images in my mind that I can put to canvas that will help project hope to the viewer. That will also soothe my anxiety and bring me a sense of relief and respite from the hectic pace of my life.

New art images for the new year are a driving force. Most creative types will tell you that the opportunity to create new art, whatever their medium is, is what drives us. From my standpoint, each time I finish a canvas I cannot wait to get started on the next one. Sometimes I have two or three going at once because it is so difficult to contain the visual ideas that permeate my brain continually. Having a creative outlet is a true life’s blessing. The opportunity to escape the daily grind and focus totally on creating something is unparalleled, in my estimation. I have written before on the creative process and how that it is the epitome of the artistic experience. Well, completing my creative endeavors in the fashion I envisioned them does have a certain grand reverence and sense of accomplishment to be sure. My creative friends have told me they get the same good juju from seeing or hearing the finished or final version of their projects.

For me, art is life. I have been at it since I was young enough to draw on my bedroom walls with anything that would make marks. Much to my mother’s chagrin. I have several new painting images already started for 2021. Visit my online art gallery; www.artbydst.com to see what is rolling around in my brain this coming year. I hope you enjoy what you see.