And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.
T. S. Eliot
Finding artistic inspiration is what it’s all about, of course. If you are not inspired, there is no reason to pick up a paint brush! We pick up master artists golden threads and then hopefully translate all of this into our own voice and language. As Ray Kinstler says, “I’ll teach you the language of art—what you want to say is up to you.”
Artists must find this balance between being inspired by master artists’ work and finding their true voice. Sometimes someone would ask Ray how long it takes to paint a portrait. The answer—40 years and one inspired weekend.
Mr. Kinstler spoke at the Portrait Society of America conference in Philadelphia in April about his teachers, mentors and dear friends. “They made my life richer.” He swept vastly through a long list of awe-inspiring artists. He admonished us that we must dig, dig, dig our whole lives to be better.
Sonia Hale is an award-winning, nationally-collected artist in Boston. She paints commissioned portraits for families and institutions nationwide. Her original landscape and still life oil paintings can be purchased at http://www.soniahale.com. For more information, go to http://www.soniahale.com.
