I uploaded this artwork of mine for world art day because it was part of my GCSE art and design classes. I am in my early teens when I draw/paint this. It still relaxes me when I look at it. And it shows, I think, the enormous value of art education. It's something you can go on appreciating and being energised from even though it's many years back when it was created. Like a song links memories in your mind so artworks can take you back to feelings and thoughts you had when you sat down and produced them. When I drew this I was feeling very relaxed and just experimenting with line, shape, colour and design. Rather than just painting every individual petal, I wanted the background to be part of the foreground and subject matter, namely the flowers. I liked the effect and the way each flower is a slightly different shade despite the one stroke wash. I also wanted a reduced palette to evoke unity of colour and emotion. I used charcoal as a drawing medium because it produces a strong, distinct line which, here, draws attention to the flowers giving them a strong, bold presence. Flowers are seen as delicate, I wanted to turn that notion on its head.
World Art Day, to me, means celebrating art in all its various forms ranging from drawing, painting, and textiles to collage, crafts, design, sculpture and photography. The purpose of art itself is manifold from enjoyment, inspiring and bringing people together to healing benefits both mentally and emotionally. Indeed, this past year art on the internet has brought people together to create artworks for everyone to enjoy. Art bonds. That's the power of art. It provokes thought, emotion and appreciation of creative expression. It creates resilience. It can excite. It can relax you. It causes controversy. It can shock you. But it's never boring!
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Art is undervalued in society and in education. It's considered less important than STEM subjects, Classics, Humanities, and Languages. Yet art collecting is an expensive business. Price tags can go into millions of pounds for an artwork. Writing a History paper will never be valued as highly even though both activities took the same amount of time and effort. There are art galleries to visit that inspire artists to create their own artworks. There's a wealth of history behind the practice of art. And, it's something everyone can do at some level. It's within everyone's reach in a way that music isn't. Everyone can pick up a pencil or paintbrush and apply them to paper to create something unique. Not everyone can just pick up a violin or flute and play a piece of music.
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World Art Day also expresses our common humanity and creates space for diversity. This is why I also included this artwork of mine for world art day. Artistic freedom means one should not have to restrict ones subject matter according to the dominant culture that one lives in, ones race, gender, sexuality, social status, class, age, education, physical appearance stereotypes and so on.
This portrait was inspired by African women walking around London in traditional dress. Therefore, it's not of any one particular woman. Here I've refused to impose western notions onto her keeping her true to her ethnicity. I've tried to show that portraiture doesn't have to be of white people by white people only. Although it's never taught, at least I've never been taught it or found art books on it, here I've shown African women's naturally beautiful looks without westernizing them through traditional portraiture approaches in art. Like the artwork above, I again reduced my palette to give emotional content and vividness to my subject. The viewer is drawn to look at her, see her and connect with her, to have a dialogue with her.
The arts, such as, art and music, are the only subjects that enable pupils in schools to express themselves emotionally. It enables emotional intelligence to develop which is a vital life skill. It encourages empathy. The viewer has to try to understand and appreciate the thoughts and expressions of someone they don't know and have never met and even if they have, they might still be surprised by seeing another side to the person. Art allows pupils in schools to relax and have a less formal lesson which gives them a mental break from left brain activity and helps them develop the creative side which feeds back into their more formal, so-called academic studies.
