Sometimes when I look at a painting
I can feel the spirit of the one who painted it. I can feel their inner most emotion. At least the emotion they were feeling at the
time they painted the picture before me.
Examples of some artist whose paintings elicit this feeling are Thomas
Kinkade, Salvador Dali, and Vincent Van Gogh.
Their accomplishment in placing their emotion and spirit into their
painting is, in my opinion, the ultimate accomplishment of an artist.
In almost all of Thomas Kinkade’s art there is not only
the amazing image of light, but that light penetrates the onlooker’s soul. One can feel the light.
Thomas Kinkade even speaks of the light that he paints. It is not just something that allows you to
see, but a metaphor for the spirit within you that can overcome evil. Thomas Kinkade’s love for Jesus gave him a
different kind of light that shined through his paintings.
The following painting
is one to look at for a few minutes. See
if you can feel what Thomas Kinkade is feeling, the spirit of Thomas Kinkade.
I remember being introduced to Salvador Dali’s paintings
in high school. We even watched a movie
featuring him in art class. His spirit
was very strong in both his paintings and his presence. His spirit felt contrary to my own, yet he
managed to invoke strong feelings through his paintings.
Reading
quotes from Salvador Dali actually makes his paintings make more sense because
you can see a little more of the spirit which created them. It seems as though he wanted to portray the
feelings that drugs elicited on people in his paintings.
If you are
looking at Salvador Dali paintings, you do not need to do drugs, you can
experience the wonder in a healthier way. Salvador
Dali is truly a master at placing his spirit and emotion into paintings!
Vincent Van
Gogh is another artist who transfers great feeling to viewers of his
paintings. It seems that each of his
paintings portrays a different spiritual experience. Take the two following paintings for example.
The first
painting titled “At Eternity’s Gate” gives a feeling of sorrow and desperation
while the second painting feels peaceful and makes one want to take a nap in
the field.
This quote portrays a feeling of the need to be excepted and not feeling
as if he was excepted.
The above quote is inspiring, a different emotional moment for Van
Gogh. He was a superb portrayer of
emotion. Any artist could only hope to
portray their emotions as effectively as Van Gogh.
In conclusion, some of
the greatest artists have accomplished the ability to put a part of their
spirit and emotion into a painting. In
the painting this spirit has the ability to be shared and influential for
generations to come. In my own artwork I
desire to do the same. I am far from
having that ability now but with work hope to accomplish what these great
artists have!
