Wisdom of the Oak

Sometimes the most difficult part of creating is not developing the idea but creating the reality. As a modern consumer it is so easy to go on the "hunt" whether online or on foot, to observe randomly and then to purchase. Ideas are often the same. It is incredibly easy to buy or in this connected world to put other concepts together—to "mash-up".

But what makes a true visionary or a time spanning artist is the ability to profoundly create. The reason I most deeply admire Picasso is his ability to take what was around him—all his influences—personal, cultural, rival artists—and then apply his considerable drafting ability to create new expressions that went beyond the relevance of his times into ours. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones I would offer are the same.

Masters.

A degree alone does not offer this: mentors, time, struggle and doing do. Today I met with Laura Dagan for lunch. She is a master. Learning, compiling, creating in a world not of art but of business. Business with heart, a business that builds people.

So sometimes the most difficult part of creating is the doing, the starting and continuing. In my mind, many thoughts are stirring about, creating an internal ruckus. The painting I've started waits for me in Rochester now weighs on me. How will I return to a dry unfinished canvas? Can I complete it? The concept of flying and the tree of life. My discovery, through my constant walking forests and suburban lanes, is that in form the iconic tree of life is the venerable oak—the tree of Merlin, the symbol of magic, of triumph, and of wisdom.

Today I purchased—oil & watercolor paints. Then finally summing up my courage, I painted. The oak began to come to life.