The meaning of Color, Light and Lines to an Artist

How I see color, light and lines are…

You can’t have one without the other. I may be wrong and I often am about stuff, but I was asked for my thoughts and so here I go.

Instantly my mind is like a squirrel in a dryer. It’s racing in circles and having a time of it!
Now comes the serious stuff. I need to settle down my excitement and racing thoughts and somehow put them in an organized and interesting, follow along piece of writing.

Whispering Stones all about color
Manipulating color and light

Colour

My first big awakening or “aaa-haaa” moment happened when I was about five years old. I hadn’t learned to walk yet. I was wheeled up to the crafts table in kindergarten. The porter leaned over and locked my wheelchair into place and left. There, strewn before me were new crayons. I remember my teacher showing me the magic they hid. She slid a paper in front of me and created beautiful bold colorful lines. I didn’t need any more instruction than that.

Even though I could barely sit up and hold a crayon because of my physical challenges and disabilities, I was determined to color my entire sheet yellow. Yellow is by fare my most valued and favorite color of all. As I got stronger and more capable in myself, so did my exploration in creating art. I understood how certain colors could effect my moods and even my thoughts.

Lines verses blending

Oh boy! Two very different elements in artwork but extremely important and powerful. Lines give meaning to what is before us. Without some form of structure, the viewer can feel lost and confused. Blending is like a sunset of colors that roll into and over one another without apologizing. Nor should it. Color blending is what makes my spirit sing. Add glitter and I’m inside the artwork!

I deal with chronic pain due to inflammation and arthritis, but when I’m painting, I leave my body. All I feel is the time I spend with color, light and the lines that zoom and zig zag across my canvas. Whether it’s glass, stones or shells, these large or small areas of space become my home away from home when I paint.
That’s how powerful artwork can be.
To me, it’s a beautiful escape into a world of what if’s. Cool eh?

Light? Ohhh yeah. Light is key.

Without light there is no color. I struggle with shading, I’m not going to lie. The thing is, lighting sets the tone. Deep grays, light grays and the blackest black can take you deep inside the artwork.

You take these three powerful elements in the world of creative art, you will have an infinite number of ways to explore and bring something to life. That’s really what art is. It’s taking a blank canvas and adding your energy to it through the use of color, lines and light. How it all comes together is yours to discover.
People ask me, how do you come up with so many different pieces of artwork?

To me, the answer is simple. Allow yourself to play. Avoid expectations of the artwork because I believe art has its own energy. The energy once again comes from colors, lines and light. You and I are simply the conduits.

My teacher once told me something after I had a unhappy meltdown because I wasn’t getting the results I wanted with my art project. Her words to this day continue to give me strength, wisdom and deep respect to the process of creating.

Mrs. Ker said, “Theresa, when it’s art it’s never wrong.”

Like I said at the beginning of, I make a lot of mistakes. However, being an artist has given me a platform, a voice and a reason to challenge myself. As long as there are
rays of light, a multitude of colors and endless miles of lines, I can and will continue to share my Whispering Stones Artwork with the world.

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