“Geometry” by Barb Forristall, artofbarb

This was the first painting that I did without research or having a basic idea about what my subject would be…I let it develop all on its own.  Sometimes I think I should have called it “Rorchach” instead of “Geometry” because everyone sees something different when they look at it.  However, I sometimes get a title before I get to work on the image as was the case with this piece.  I was also undergoing a major transformation of my own as the world as I had grown accustomed to it was changing completely, leaving me to question everything about myself: who am I? where am I going? what will I do now? what does it mean to be alive; are rocks better off in the grand scheme of things? so on and so forth….I suppose “Geometry” is on my mind tonight because here I go again on the transformation highway of self…many questions are running through my mind as I wonder what I am I doing as an artist and just what does being an artist mean? Is it possible to flip the switch? Knowing that of almost all of the niches one holds in life, ‘artist’ seems so in harmony with my authenic self. Yet I get the feeling what being an artist means to me may not be what being an artist means to other fellow artists.  Wanting to come out of the shadows of my outsider ways but unsure how well I can relate to others in the world of art, despite feeling a strong urge to share my visions of art and what it is to find my way as an artist. I want to learn from my contemporaries rather than retreat to the comfort of books and museums of the ones before us that carved the pathways for art in the 21st century.  I am in such awe of the changes that have come about because of all the artists before me right down to the artists of the first cave drawings.  Still pondering my place in the world of art while hoping I offer something in my artwork that artists of today and perhaps the future can find of some value as they embark on their own visions of art and what it means to be an artist in their time.   In my time I’ll slowly find my path as I learn to interact with other lovers of art with the same questions or perhaps even some answers. I will also wonder if a lifetime is enough time to learn all that makes me curious and be able to pass it on to others so in the age of the internet this blog, my artofbarb facebook page and other internet venues will be my attempt.  As I age, I am searching for the courage to try, even if I flop it is something of an accomplishment because I at least made an attempt at some sort of action versus the safety of inaction. Hope to hear from fellow artists about what gives them their inspiration and what being an artist means to them.  It would also be great to hear from people who love art and why they love it.

“Most of the sh…

“Most of the sh….