The Consummate Artist of Our Age
| By Bruce Painter |  |
Bruce Painter is a writer, speaker and consultant who has a
passion of helping art to have its rightful place in our society.
The consummate Artist of Our Age is the artist who demonstrates
supreme mastery in art, has all necessary qualities and is complete in
all aspects. It is the artist that is whole.
It is not enough to just be a talented-masterful artist. Over
the ages there have been countless artists who were masterful, yet
undiscovered. If there was any one skill that is the most unrecognized by our
society, art could very well be that skill. Art is irrefutably though
one of the most valuable assets any society has. For society to not
recognize the value of art, is the same as ripe fruit needed to feed a
population being left unpicked in the orchards.
The purpose of this article is to get at the core of what it will
take to get the artist and art to flourish in our society and become an
entity recognized as important as other subjects such as math, social
studies, and commerce.
It is time that we work together to create a New Renaissance in
Art
A question of paramount importance is – Can we, the artists in
this society wait for that to happen? I believe not.
Oprah Winfrey says,
“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining
what we are.â€
This means by remaining as we are, change or betterment is
virtually impossible.
As artists we cannot afford to wait for things to happen. We
need to be proactive and be in command of our lives and our world.
Those who are rewarded in the world are the ones who make
changes. This is true in our relationships, in finances, as well as in our
art. Those who wait for their spouse to get better, their finances to
get better, or their career to get better, are some of the most
disappointed people on the planet.
In the Renaissance, art was recognized much more highly in our
society. I believe a major part of this was that there existed the
consummate artist such as the Michelangelo and the Leonardo DaVinci. These
were artists who not only mastered their craft, but they also had honed
other skills that made them be recognized by society.
Mahatma Gandhi said,
“You must be the change you wish to see in the
worldâ€
I have noticed that if I want something to improve in my life, I
must change and also be the change I want to see.
For example, many years ago I decided I wanted to be a more
loving person because my relationships were painful and not nearly as loving
as they could be. To become more loving, I needed to work on the side
of myself that was harshly critical, hateful and blamed others (rather
than taking responsibility for what happened).
When I became much more loving, my relationships changed for the
better. My whole world changed. It became a much more loving world.
The pain and suffering in my relationships greatly diminished because I
was hardly giving out pain and suffering.
It is time for artists to change and be the change. It is time
for artists to eliminate all excuses and ban together toward the
purpose of getting art recognized for it’s true importance.
The image of the artist as being reclusive and neurotic is no
longer acceptable.
First of all artists do not have a corner on this market. Many
other people of our society also tend to have these characteristics. I
know this so because I have worked with thousands of people as a
consultant and speaker for the past 33 years and have observed many people
who are not artists, who are reclusive and might be considered neurotic.
It is simply an excuse and nothing more.
As artists, we need to recognize that each time we use such an
excuse, we weaken our future.
We need to take action now. We cannot procrastinate any longer.
Our mission is too important. Art is tied into the survival of
society.
Art is a great healer. It is a source of enlightenment. Art
produces beauty which is the embodiment of the soul on the physical plane.
Art unites all people and is a contributor to world peace.
A Question naturally arises - What can we do to take action?
By joining hands we can put art back in its rightful place
through creating a New Renaissance.
I see that there are two directions needed.
One: We unite as a team, work together, educate, and put on
events to create a new renaissance of art. This is not so far away as you
might think.
Recently, on October 30th, 2005, my wife and I were fortunate to
have attended the first ARTV – Fine Arts Awards, in Las Vegas Nevada,
MGM Grand.
This televised spectacular – The Academy Awards for Fine Art,
15 years in the making, is a pioneering effort to help put art back in
its rightful place in our society.
All it takes is some visionaries and leaders to step forth and
make things happen. As a group, artists are very creative. It’s about
using the gift of our creativity and extending it toward bringing forth
this New Art Renaissance.
Two: We create a new movement of artists being dedicated to
changing from within. Each of us has abilities that far surpass what we
think. It’s time that we exercise these abilities.
I have identified four skills that artists can develop that will
help give us the valued place in society we desire. These skills will
also help us to be whole and become the consummate artist that is
inside each one of us.
1. Marketing skills – These are skills that will allow us to
communicate the value and worth of art. This includes our individual
art as well as art as a whole.
2. Self-esteem skills - It is of great benefit to increase our
self-esteem skills in order to achieve much higher success individually
and as a group.
Self-esteem and self-worth are nearly synonymous. Self-worth
simply is a measure of how much a person feels they are worth. If a
person has low self-worth, they are likely to experience one or more of the
following - being broke, have low success, and have poor quality
relationships. If a person has high self-worth, they are likely to
experience comfort financially; they may be highly successful and they may have
good quality relationships.
Each of us has made an unconscious decision as to how much
financial worth, relationship worth, success worth and other worth that we
have. For instance, we do not have a penny more than we feel we are
worth and do not have any more love than we feel we are worth. Our
self-worth is a measure of how much we allow ourselves to have in life.
3. Relationship skills – These skills are of supreme
importance because they give you the advantage of being able to handle the many
people problems that occur in life. These skills also can result in
successful and happy relationships. Such relationship skills give the
ability to resolve conflicts, negotiate, get your point across, and listen
effectively. With good relationship skills you have the ability to make
things happen. You do not get caught in everyday conflict and drama.
You can stay on purpose to create the results you want.
4. Leadership skills – These are essential skills that can help
artists lead the way to coalesce other artists and the public into the
needed action to put the value of art in it’s rightful place.
Audrey Roberts, creator of ARTV and the Fine Arts Awards is an
example of what can be done. When artists will develop marketing,
self-esteem, relationship, and leadership skills and combine them with their
art skills, artists as a whole will become a powerful force.
The question follows – How can artists develop marketing,
self-esteem, relationship and leadership skills? The answer lies in taking
classes in each area, personal coaching, reading and listening to
tapes.
All it takes to get started is a decision to take your first
step. Perhaps you are very interested in improving relationship skills.
You could start out by reading a book or attending a workshop.
Whatever you do, take a new step in the direction of giving art
its rightful place in society. We all have it in us. We can work
together. Let’s be whole. Let’s get the word out and get started now.
Let’s become the consummate artist that is inside.
Have a fun adventure.
Bruce Painter
Copyright (c) 2005
Bruce Painter is author of The Giving Zone available at
He also is starting an internet radio program www.givingzoneradio.com
For further information call toll free 866-319-7736