Van Gogh Didn't Hang, Either.

Alanah White  and Stephen Hrivnak and their mandala.

(That photo - taken on the Hobuck Beach during Photosynthesis 6 - is just to have something to link a pretty picture for social media postings. But it's a nice mandala they both worked on, and I'm not using it as a bad example.)

Once again, the REAL artist is diffident and ignored, while others get all the attention. At Photosynthesis, the young artists sitting around the bonfire were oohing and ahing over crude mandalas and the fact that somebody had actually pressed down hard enough on Prismacolor pencils to get some color. I wouldn't harsh their buzz - they were having fun, and not being mean about it. And most of them were really math geeks, playing with patterns. Which is a good cross-over. But -

One kid was agog at a poster I'd done, while the others seemed confused. Then I saw her notebook, which was just lying on a log by the fire-pit. 

After flipping through it, I got this quiet child's attention and said, "I'm not going to insult you by saying you have 'talent,' because you and I know that's just a little better ability to see color, or better hand-eye control. But you've done the work. I can SEE you've done the work." 

She'd done her thousands of drawings, and drawn delicate, real nudes, based on friends and herself. Sensitive, soulful, speaking work.

Gorgeous lines, delicate pencils that showed weight, fabulous innovative color - and she had her OWN STYLE. If you're looking for the real artist in the group - look for the one the fake artists are ignoring or snubbing. It's worth it. 

 

Before I told her what I believe about her art, she'd said, "I saw your face, and I knew I wanted to talk to you." I need to run something for Photosynthesis. I don't even know if I got her name, because it was early in the morning, and I was still trying to get caffeine in my brain. She'd even done some things with word balloons. One Of Us was at the show, just waiting to bloom. I hope she's there next year, too.