A Collector of Quotes

I fancy myself a collector of quotes. I really enjoy using words and text in my art. Not only is the written word visually appealing to me on the basis of shape, but I feel that it helps me bring my viewer even that much further into my own world. I have a notebook full of my favorite quotes by famous and not-so-famous people alike. I will often spend hours searching the internet or one of my many books for just the right words to add to my piece. Sometimes this process can be frustrating and unproductive. Not to mention, I lose myself in the search and precious hours go by that could otherwise be spent painting.

Then it occurred to me: I am an artist. By definition, that make me creative. Don't I have any fresh and riveting comments to make about my own art?!? That's when I felt the walls of my "tunnel vision" begin to crumble. Perhaps it's not as news-worthy as when the Berlin Wall came crashing down, but it's just as exciting to me! I can create my own poetry... imagine that!

And I'm here to report that that's just what I did... and am doing. It's so incredibly freeing! And I'm much more apt to convey my precise feelings for a given piece than any stranger ever could. No tag line... no searching... no making a fit. The words just flow and I am free to move on to the next thing. Sometimes the obvious is so hard to see. But thank heaven when we do.