It was New Years Day and we were making art at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We had paper and a range of art supplies available for the public to use. Jon Bailiff made about 70 ink brush paintings and gave away all of them. I’m painted Jon painting and as viewers noticed this, I invited them to paint or draw me.
Like stepping into a painting
Making art in public is like stepping into a painting. The interactions are full of life and the intensity of the moment is visceral. Jon got a passerby to make art at his easel. The man said something like “This is no good.” And Jon said, ”Take it home and look at it, I think you will really appreciate what you did here today. And if you’re anything like me, this place will never be the same to you and your memory of it will be more sensual and alive because you were in the moment, looking and drawing this view.”
So many of us give up on art making when we are young. It is a tragedy for all of us. Too often, art making is thought of as entertainment. While actually, the making of art is a powerful language that engages both the right and left brain. It is a substantive practice of learning how to see, reflect and innovate. There is a generative feeling that happens when we create and share our creations with others.