Why Do We Paint?

I dont... I have hit yet another stupid block........ Again and again lol

To change the world ?

One very small fraction of it. A little piece of time - to display what we feel, or what we desire to see.

ABBIE!!! Paint that gorilla!.....That will be a fun one for you and you painted Wade so beautifully..;]
A Caroline, I like yourself, paint because I must. Art has never been an option for me. Getting paid to do it, well that is what we call down here icing on the cake.

Upon a day - long long ago now - I painted because I wanted to see if I could.

Because part of me is a pragmatist - I need to paint so I can see if my ideas actually work, rather than being content to just imagine what they might look like.

cuz it's waaay cheaper than therapy.....and evidently works better!

I am enjoying reading all comments an periodically looking at your works.

For the sake of my hordes of admirers, of course. (Three counts as a horde, right?) ;)

I like to just do it, but it brings awareness to what we may not see as beautiful there are times where I look at art other people's art and I say myself "I never would have thought this was beautiful". But how the artist captures it makes beautiful.

I love color. And I enjoy it. Enjoy seeing what I can do and learning and experimenting and hopefully improving, being better able as time goes on to create what was in my head.

I paint to release this inner creativity demon of mine. To express what I feel as of the moment...sad, happy, contentment...It shows on my works.

I paint because I don't want a 9 to 5 job.

I paint because I love the way that "Happy accidents" happen as if my hand is guided from "beyond" I see something unintended and the whole painting goes off in an entirely different direction

It's what I'm good at. I've always had a natural talent for it. I also play electric guitar but I'm better at visual art than I am at music, so I concentrate on that. You have to make the most of what you got.

--Roz Barron Abellera

Painting is a part of me. I see beauty in the world around me and I can't help but to want to show others what I see and feel.

I paint because I don't want to have an unblemished piece of clothing in my closet.
:::ducking::::

because I love it and it loves me back.

LOL Marlene, I have been sitting around in rags all day.
No one has mentioned how much work it really can be ,so far,... the old tubes of paint you can't bring yourself to throw away till you squeeze them so hard you find more on your hands the than canvas, the endless hours of standing, or sitting cleaning of brushes or pallets , painting away hoping the phone or door bell won't ring , an that you can maybe figure out what to do with that speck on the far right corner of your canvas........................
So many insightful view points people !!! An I have looked at many wonderful paintings ......art is everywhere.

We should meet for coffee one day in our rags!

It's funny about the rags we keep in case we decide to paint. There are never too many painting clothes in my closet. I don't want to be defined by other people's agendas and it's hard for me to give control over to another person. Getting involved in a project is sure fire way of not being involved with someone else or their agenda.

yes, Lisa...and always the best excuse...." so sorry but I'm in the middle of this painting and I just cannot put the brush down!"
"i've got a deadline and was up all night painting..."

The smell of oil paint is addictive, also I have so many ideas and visions they have to go somewhere. I was born into a family of writers and thought I was going to be a writer but it came out in visual work instead :)

Caroline ,I hear you about phones and doorbells! Let's throw them away or dismantle them lol, hate being disturbed

I find that digital paint is far less messy. ;)

lol April good point, but what about the smell of oils? yum ;)

Sounds Great Marlene!
I get up at the crack of dawn lol..
Lisa ,I have a art room rag closet ha-ha. An you are so right about not getting involved, however painting with other painters can be an enlightening and fun experience .
Most of us spend a lot of time alone anyway. There where years.......... I would have never painted in front of, or with someone
Us painters need to stick together.

Let me paint

When life has taken its toll
And I'm but a shell of a man,
God give me at least one good eye,
And a steady, deliberate hand.

When this body grows weak,
And my very heart is faint,
Give me the power to grasp a brush,
And give me the strength to paint.

When my days on earth are few,
And I have completed all my toils,
Lead me closer to God,
And surround me with my oils.

When I have passed from life,
And perhaps strolling with a saint,
I'll be inspired by streets of gold,
So Lord, please let me paint.

.................g. gregory

Each of my paintings begins with me thinking "I wonder if I can..."

Painting with other people sounds like a lot of fun. I need to try that.

Do painters that turn to digital painting sit in front of their computers with an open tube of oil paint next to them for the smell?

As soon as I open my tube, or oils, WHOOSH... it hits me that this is what I was meant to do.

I have one item of clothing with no oil paint on it somewhere. Our room is small so I am always knocking past the easel and then NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Digital would dry faster.......

PS I bought a highlighting hair apron... goes right over the shoulders and I wear it long side forwards and that saves a lot of mess

Oh, yeah, I always keep an open tube of paint next to my $3000 computer. ;)

“Digital design is like painting, except the paint never dries.” - Neville Brody

I draw because I feel a happy man in this moment.even a tiredness does not do for a mood, because I create the world to such what him it is desirable to see me.that can it be better?

To hear a brush stroke hit a canvas, is painting. No matter what new tactics come into style, the old style of painting will always stay the most valuable in the end.
To walk into a museum an see a very old painting can take your breath away.

A very dear friend of mine, that happens to be a fantastic painter once said to me " I could paint in a bath tub if I had to".
This women is in her late 70s an still paints daily, she has over 600 paintings in her home , occasionally she gives one away.

I have looked an commented on many of your art works these past two days,
I never really post or comment much, an if I did have something nice to say about your work it's because I really mean it.
Really great to see all the variety of responses to why we paint.

There is something very appealing about paint on clothing..I once had a big mural job and an impossible deadline...the office was closed for one week and they wanted every wall addressed. One of the Dr's wives offered to be my shlepper and lay out tarps, bring paint cans, wash brushes for me....her husband promised her a shopping spree when the job was done.
One afternoon, I caught her in a corner splattering paint on her clothing and shoes..I guess that is evidence that she was a bonafide artist!

Yes, that is definitely one of the perks.
Getting to go out in public with clothes completely trashed...
& they will whisper; " Oh, her... well, she is an Artist..

I like oil and water themself, the material make me feel the reality in this man made city life.

Dont afraid to paint with primary colors , dont afraid to paint with COLORS ! **** the rules :) yellow is beautiful with blue :D

I have to. Its in my blood. Its an itch that can never fully be scratched.