Expressing yourself artistically is finding yourself and losing yourself. It is as simple and as complicated as that. Your observations filter into your mind, are felt in your heart, and are translated by your soul. You are driven to express the eternal and interpret the profound.

Artistic motivation is complex. It is the pure selfish delight in the ability to express yourself. It is the shared inner need to communicate. The stimulus, however lofty or mundane,          cannot be ignored, at the risk of inner frustration.

There is a force which makes mind particles vibrate. In the past, this mysterious energy was said to have been provided by a muse. It attunes, inspires, and illuminates. The artist gains the insight to interpret and is answerable only to his or her own authority.

Philosophically speaking, art is not for sale. To be commercially driven is to degrade an     intention. To submit to patronage can direct you down the wrong path. That is the             dilemma of the artist. Realistically, selling the work must play a part in supporting the       artist.

But if commerce is the only incentive, then it is a prostitution of the act; for money, not love.

There is medical proof that art for a viewer can be therapeutic.

Researchers in Bari, Italy in 2008 found that people looking at works of art which they liked lessened the pain from an electric current. When shown art that they disliked, the pain        increased.

In 2011, brain scans showed that a painting by Ingres, elicited the same response as the sight of a beloved face. What delight means to the viewer was illustrated.

Helen Slade (1943-2019)