Waiting for George While Recharging Your Battery

OK, it’s actually Georges to be fair about it. You know the guy; he was that fella that painted people by candlelight. That’s right, Georges de la Tour. Well, I am waiting to run into him on one of my walks to work. To be more precise, I am waiting to see his hands. I am waiting to walk down the street and someone will suddenly make this gesture.

or this

It would be a tall order though, because Georges’ hands are masterpieces of Gothic architecture and creatures unto themselves. Even when they are tossing dice they are some of the most beautiful creations I have ever seen. They can speak of supplication and resignation or casual deceit. They have been formed with a beautiful delicacy and communicate without words.

When I let Georges hands find their way into my artistic noggin, I have widened the scope of possible wonders; faces and hands that can surprise and delight and make me feel the world around me in a much more intimate way. But I guess thats what being an artist is all about.

Part of what artists do is bring energy and emotion to their vision as reflectors of the world. You, the artist, are an aesthetic battery, building up a static charge that can be released on your works. The inspirational vision that Georges and other artists express are part and parcel of the electrolytic paste that make up your battery. I urge you to feed yourself full of art, images, emotions and sensations to help that battery keep its charge. The excitement you feel when your battery is full will be felt by those who view your art. The electric jolt comes out through your hand and registers in graphite, paint, or whatever method you chose to express the current flowing through you. Since you run off of that electric charge, you can sense the electricity in others, in their situations, in the spaces between them. Let the air surrounding them crackle with the spark of their being.

Be not content to see people as objects in a composition, see if you can express their electrical potential. We exist, in part, through the electrical impulses within us. Let those impulse flow into your battery and into your art.