Why I love Art.

I was thinking about art the other day, and not just paintings and mixed media but also music, poetry and books etc. and what it means to me, why art touches me so much.

I sometimes listen to a piece of music and feel so overwhelmed by the beauty of it that I can literally burst into tears.

And I came to the realisation that the reason why art touches me so deeply is because the other artist, through their artwork, speaks for me. Their art is able to vocalise or visualise parts of my soul, deep feelings that I am not necessarily able to express for myself. And the fact that they express these feelings also makes feel deeply connected, seen and heard. It makes me realise my inner world isn't just my own, others feel similarly, have similar depth of soul and have an amazing way of expressing it on behalf of me. It touches on that interconnectedness of humanity and how we are all connected and though I might be physically alone sometimes, I am not alone in how I feel and what goes on for me.

And when I create my own art, a similar thing happens. I create a painting and things come out that I don't know how to vocalise in other ways, it's a way to express stuff symbolically and metaphorically which really touches on the much deeper parts of me.

With mixed media it happens on very deep levels as there is so much layering and texture going on. It's like each layer represents a part of me that isn't superficial or obvious, the paintings seep through the cracks of me and push forward parts of my soul that I cannot express in any other way apart from with paint and brushes.

So, thank you art, and thank you other artists. :)