I WILL BE POSTING SELECTED WRITINGS FROM MY THREE VOLUME BOOK, THE IMAGEMAKERS HANDBOOK - TO BE RELEASED MID-2015.
THE POWER OF THE IMAGEMAKER
Be it a painting or poem, sculpture or song, every piece of art is a discovery—an invention of the imagination—compelling the artist to become an intrepid voyager on a journey through life and self. Not taken for the glory of any final destination of victory, but chosen for the privilege to pursue a passion with purpose.
In science and engineering, the discovery of a life-saving drug or the invention of a time-saving device is an accomplishment that travels far beyond its creator; a gift born of effort and excellence to enhance and evolve the lives of others. As an Imagemaker, you should strive to bestow no less: to evoke emotion or provoke thought, to strengthen or shatter an existing idea, to cast light on what is unknown or bring truth to what is misunderstood. Sometimes to answer a question—sometimes to ask one.
Your creative voice is a universal form of expression—not only capable of crossing boundaries of language, culture and the ages—but transcending the human failings of hate, fear and ignorance. To be in possession of such a unique and potent gift is to not only be blessed with great potential, but also to be charged with great responsibility.
I often find myself in great museums searching for brush hairs and fingerprints embedded within history’s masterpieces. By discovering this physical evidence of the creative process, I am brought closer to that instant in time when these timeless treasures became real—that mortal moment when another human being, from another time, was immersed in the same pursuit to which I have devoted my life—to create images which not only fulfill potential, but transcend existence.
As the world struggles and strives to evolve, new images are needed every day, making the artist as essential and valuable as any doctor, professor or soldier in the preservation and perseverance of the human race. As with any pursuit, art has been used and abused to advance agendas, to help stop wars and to start them, to record history and to alter it—yet at its best, the act of making art has helped make what seemed impossible, possible.