My Thoughts
My Thoughts
It is said that “Beauty is to the eye of the beholder”, and I must agree. As far as art goes, what is good, what is great, or what might be considered mediocre is a subjective contemplation at best. Vincent Van Gogh is the perfect example in so many ways. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that during his lifetime you might have been able to purchase his paintings for a pittance. As the story goes he only sold a painting or two. Now his fame is known throughout the world and his paintings sell for millions.
I have painted many landscape and coastal scenes. While living in Laguna Beach I was inspired to paint the majestic beauty there. The lush gardens of brightly colored flowers aside white warm sand, with palm tree covered hills leading to the ocean’s edge, did surely grace many a canvas of mine. Landscapes have been a common motif since painting began.
A gallery owner told me that landscapes have become passé. Is this true? Of course this is an opinion and there will always be those who admire a beautiful depiction of nature. In art there will always be room for any and all opinions. It should be no other way. However, what about painting nature? Let me tell you a short story.
Over forty years ago I joined the army and just finished basic training. We had one month off before going in again for advanced instruction. Having lived in Southern California my whole life, I learned to surf at 16 and loved it. Dana Point at that time was a small town by the ocean that had the most amazing stretch of coast you could imagine. From Doheny Beach to the point at Dana Point the surf spots in this area were truly amazing. And for big surf, Killer Dana was a legend. It was one of the few places where true big waves with perfect shape would roll in like a freight train during a strong south swell. It was unique beyond compare. The waves were only one part of that one-of-a-kind coastline. It was an undersea kaleidoscope of diversity. The beauty was off the charts. Marine life abounded in crystal water that would astonish ones senses. All the money in the world could not buy what use to be there. Now where once the ocean ruled, there is a modern harbor with shops and restaurants. The whole natural area was destroyed.
On my leave from the army, I surfed Dana Point and they were just laying the first stones that would grow into a breakwater that would envelope the new harbor. At that time I wasn’t quite twenty years old, but I felt in my heart that so much beauty and joy that I knew at that time would never be experienced by those who were not yet born. They would never see those waves or be able to surf in on them. No one would dive beneath the watery surface again and gasp at the magical wonder it contained. I knew then and there that money would most always win out in the end. That one moment, that one epiphany has stuck with me my whole life.
I like painting nature. It’s ever changing and challenging. Nature gives us a respect for our true place in this world, or it should. In our modern world where places that awe us with natural beauty are becoming less and less, isn’t it a good thing to appreciate and protect what we have? The phrase “Mother Earth” was coined for a reason. What joy could we find in a world of only concrete and pollution?
Landscapes are not the only subjects that I paint, but I will always have a passion for them.
An appreciation for the art of painting can be a tradition of the human spirit. Hundreds of years ago an artist may have had to make their own materials to paint with, but the act of painting is no different now than it was then. A painting is made by hand, one stroke at a time. Whatever the artist sees and how they interpret what they see in paint is unique. In our modern world we have photography, and computers which can capture and create beautiful interesting scenes of reality and imagination. I am in no way belittling these mediums. I enjoy them. However, it is not and never will be the same as creating an image with hand applied paint. Hopefully the calligraphy of the painting artist will live on. When you create or buy a painting, you have something that is impossible to duplicate in all of its true essence. You can have a print that looks just like a real painting, but it will be as different as a photo of an apple and a real apple. Try eating the photo; it isn’t too tasty or nourishing.
In our mechanized society where we are bombarded constantly with images and entertainment with the push of a button, I do hope an appreciation for art and for nature will endure.
Dan Johnson
