Deeper Than It Might Seem

'Princess and the Pea' wood assemblage

©2011 robin r kent

I always wished I could be a musician     

and sing as freely as Dylan.

To perform live  - in front of strangers even - who understood perfectly. 

Doing it my way,

never having to change a note.

Guess a painter it is then.

Same initial evolutions: from puppet, pauper, pirate,

to poet. Put down on paper.

Change. Begin again. No one knowing the final creation 

- revealed for all to see -

isn't exactly as I always intended it to be.

Eyes Notice Everything

'Sea and Be Scene' assemblage sculpture

©robin r kent

When viewing art, eyes notice awkward colors, positions in portraits, thicknesses in bands of brush strokes, etc.
Then how come we can be so oblivious at other times?

Maybe that's the thing about art. It makes you look and holds your attention.
To me, learning 'how to look' means:
1. explaining how to stop the action of whatever is happening around you
2. see the art within it
3. understand how each section contributes to the whole, and
4. remember for future reference.
In a split second. No luxury of gazing at the subject in daily living, unless all you want to draw is attention. Other eyes notice everything, too.
It's the remembering part that is the most difficult to me. Especially as I get older. But it seems to seep back in an unconscious way when called upon at the easel or workbench. It's nice to know there's a part of me connecting with what I see even when I'm oblivious.