The Slow Birth of Beauty

The artist's truth 

Drawing on paper By Eiman Muiny 

In 'the story of art' book and around the story of an artist's life, when art was born as a need found behind the necessities to creating tangible evidences of the magnificence of this universe, to translate meanings and objectiveness, to speak to minds and souls to teach about the real and imaginary world, to narrating stories from true and fictional believes, to prohibited absurdity in ethics and civilized values and to determine barriers and freedoms. 

In the principle, through the history of manufacturing art-the fine art specifically- events, status, power, religion who dominated this sector and controlled it. Artists were chosen by these facts to help delivering messages, norms and values, by their ability to depicting their stories, to translate their thoughts, believes and orders into pictorial scenes. It's a way to educate people and raise their awareness to respect and obey the upper hands in the society. 

Sculptures and paintings were the devises to satisfy and fulfills their desires. Taking a pride in the architecture revolution for gigantic buildings, columns, arches, halls, domes and walls, all were parts of that as well. Their golden age translated into tangible luxury fine art and architectures.   

proficiency wasn't born in a coincidence, it's a devotion in craft, discipline in practice, it's a necessity that determine the highest standards to create the most exquisite artistic landmarks.

If this is the big picture, let's zoom into, who, why and how? Take for example the names of some masters who have lived in that era and had a huge impact in inventing and shaping the still living pieces to be witnessed by our generation now a days. 

Botticelli, Titian, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Vermeer, Caravaggio and so on. If you think of these artists and delve into their artistic profession, a revealing of specific skillful craftsmanship will explain it all. Their invention of materials and techniques came as a result of deepening their knowledge into various fields, mathematics, physics, engineers, science, chemistry, medical and medicine, herbal medicine. 

 If we again zoom into one of the aspect of their performance like figurative art, either in drawing or in painting, all these knowledge intertwined to make the perfect piece of art, like depicting figure, the ratio of human proportion and balance between body parts, skull and skeleton, muscles, veins, poses ( full- half- three quarter, full legs, cross leges, hands, hair ) gestures, facial expression, background and composition, soft or define features, this is study of human medical, right? Finding the right way to measure the proportion either if it's standalone figure or multiples figures, either with architectural elements like interior or exterior, this is the elements of perspective in the architectural engineering.  Then determining the surface to work on it, paper... what kind of paper? animal skin or handmade sheet from cotton, flex, rice. Finding the right charcoal either from trees or from bones. Making the colour either from earthen stones or from flowers and herbal plants, mixing them with the right resin or gum, think of it!

Continue... Painting the figure either on wood or canvas, choose the wood, the perfect one with backing, then work on sealing it, gluing with rabbit skin glue or fish glue, priming with the right whitening such calcium carbonate, chalk and other chemicals to build a rigid support. Then painting process from choosing the colour palette to grinding the pigment, finding the right binders, working with layers on top of each other and finally varnishing. 

It's a complete cycle with reciprocal relationship between these knowledges. 

Continue... Learning these techniques and mastering the art of drawing and painting require creating talented artists who truly believe and recognize that the process and the progress of making work of art is deadly slow. It's the rhythm of true creation, every layer, every decision and every hesitation has a journey that becomes part of the artwork's hidden story, a reflection of patience, persistence and discovery. In nutshell, this is the story of true craftsmen, who exceeded the ordinary. 

 

In the last paragraph of book of the story of art, the author denoted to the important of creating proficiency rooted in both artists and supporters of art.

"Here, at last, we are back to our starting point. there really is no such thing as art. there are only artists, men and women that is who are favoured with the wonderful gift of balancing shapes and colours till they are right, and rarer still, who poses that integrity of character which never rest content with half solutions but is ready to forgo all easyeffects, all superficial success for the toil and agony of sincere work. Artists, we trust, will always be born, but whether there will also be art depends to no small extent on ourselves, their public, by our indifference or our interest by our prejudice or our understanding, we may yet decide the issue. It's we who must see to it that the thread of tradition does not break and that there remain opportunities for the artists to add to the precious string of pearls that is our heirloom from the past. . "