Why Blueberry Scribbles?

Many years ago, I read a book, whose title I’ve long forgotten as well as much of the plot, what I do remember is a passage in the book where the main character was arguing with another character over what is art, what is an artist. Paraphrased, the main character stated art could be “scribbles on a picket fence with a blueberry”. This has remained with me, and often comes to the foremost of my thoughts when “art” is discussed.

So what is “art”, what is “good art” or “bad art”? Is “bad art” today the “good art” of tomorrow? Many artists were not “discovered” until after they had died. Other artists that are hailed in their own times as being “great”, fall into obscurity soon after their death.

To me, art is personal. Forgive the cliché - Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Good or bad, art evokes an emotional response. Is this the purpose of art, and a ruler by which to measure the merits of a piece of art? If so, then it’s possible an Elvis painting on Velvet could evoke the same emotional response in one person that the Sistine Chapel evokes in another.

Art may be as simple as scribbling on a picket fence with a blueberry – the merits depends on who is looking at the fence, or the blueberry.

[Note: A dear friend of mine recently remarked that I’ve been keeping my light under a bushel with regards to my paintings. This blog is a little way to let out a bit of that light.]