The Artist's Road Painting the World's Beautiful Places

Staying on Track
Perspectives No. 27


Early Morning Venice                             Robert Henri

   The death, last week, of an artist and teacher from my childhood has caused me to reflect upon not only her life and work, but also those lessons that she taught me.  The myriad distractions of daily life, from the constant need to earn money for survival to the many mundane chores and tasks required to keep it all going can combine at times to make us temporarily lose our focus in art-making. Remembering the passion Bess Carter found in painting and how she worked to instill that passion in her students has helped to reconnect me with the roots of my own passion for art making.

   Here is a favorite quote from a well-known book Mrs. Carter first introduced me to, The Art Spirit by Robert Henri:

   “There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. If one could but recall his vision by some sort of sign. It was in this hope that the arts were invented. Sign-posts on the way to what may be. Sign-posts toward greater knowledge.”

   Henri was a wonderfully skilled artist and teacher, and The Art Spirit is filled with inspiring quotes which reach out to us today with words of encouragement and focus.

  "Art cannot be separated from life. It is the expression of the greatest need of which life is capable, and we value art not because of the skilled product, but because of its revelation of a life's experience."  - Robert Henri

   We are thankful to have had good teachers and reminded, now, that the greatest lessons that they taught us have the power to instruct and encourage us throughout our lives. We believe that Henri, and Bess Carter, were correct in pointing out that our lives as artists are our art.  As such, we must keep in mind that the road toward greater knowledge is a life-long one, and we must remember to look for those sign-posts left for us by our teachers and other artists which help to keep us on our artistic path.

  We rely on memberships to keep The Artist's Road going.  If you like what you see here, won't you join us so that we can continue to bring you great articles and info to help you with your artistic journey.  We believe that more artists (and art appreciators) in the world is a good thing!



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