Wonderful explanation of fear and our muse. It truly is a Spiritual journey to be an artist. A spiritual teacher told me recently that when we are painting and get lost in time as we create, we are actually communing with the divine and bringing an energetic piece of the divine into our work. Those that resonate with our work feel it in their hearts too, a recognition of the divine source emanating from our creation.
I try to "capture the moment". I sold an acrylic landscape, after an artist. A wind swept tree by a road with long shadows and far view. And you can really hear the wind in the branches. I then took a risk. A tramp opposite in the sun who I imagine enjoys the sound too. An African woman lawyer bought it.
HI Janet, I think this is exactly right. The quality of the awareness we have while we paint I think gets imbedded in the image, not literally, but then the viewer feels that awareness. I find so much presence when I am painting well.
“Understanding Your Muse” has exposed my puzzling fear of painting. I am inspired by your video and shall bring out my art supplies with a new awareness. Fear of failure, in general, is a crippling handicap. Thank you for sharing a new attitude.
20 years ago, as an industrial design student, I explored the aesthetics of one of the "sublime" things that humans "fear" and yet are powerfully drawn towards. Fire. Your little talk was a memory for me of all the ideas that came out of that exploration. Thank you for making me remember :) The best part of making anything, for me, is the state of flow into which the artist disappears and only when it ends finally sees what they have done. Now I will always associate that state with "muse". The hidden meaning of words is fascinating. Like art, which is an abstraction, words are abstract symbols. Layers on layers.
Thanks for these ideas. I love words that have those hidden layers. Like the word awe, which now a waiter will say when you order a chicken sandwich but which originally meant more like falling on your knees before God. You know cracked open and laid bare.
This is exactly it, Ian. This is what I feel I am doing when I paint. When I visualise what is happening - I am channeling a voice or an energy that comes from nature, passes through me, and which I absolutely have to release back into the world through painting. And it doesn't matter what other people think about it. It is what it is. It is such a wonderful thing not to stand in its way but just to allow it.
I am so grateful to you for setting me free from the constraints of my own “thinking”. It was paralyzing when it came to painting, you have helped me not to overthink, that’s a good thing. Have a beautiful painting adventure, how exciting.
Thank you for taking the time to compose and share this! I’m a metalsmith and came looking for an understanding of what a ‘muse’ is and you brought it full circle back to some recent ‘musings’ and thoughts about a importance of beauty. What a gift
We artists are standing on the frontier of material and spiritual world, translating in colors and forms the emotions. When we sucessfuly transmit the sense of amusement, that is beautful.
Wow, what a profound insight to ponder on.... it is so important to stop and reflect on the muse, fear and beauty and our connection to the sublime that makes or stops us to create. Thank you so much, Jan, for this fantastic video❤!
I liked this one Ian. Lots to ponder. When you said the experience of fear, or perhaps I'd call it deep awe, while the lightening and thunder roar, we feel so small and it opens this tiny perception of ourself to enter this vast interior of potential, and we become revealed. Maybe it also cracks open the barrier between us and the world and we no longer feel so separate from that power and beauty.
Hi Andrea, I didn't mention it in this video, it would be in one of the others in the series, but the sublime is that mixture of beauty and fear that cracks us open. Glad you liked it.
As someone who has been working with a muse intensely, I appreciate this. I treat it much like Plato's "daimon", signing all my work with the title I've given to my muse. The Camus quote really hit home. I can identify at least three great works: the first being when I saw Starry Night in person as a teenager. It was my first time viewing a Van Gogh and realizing how thick the impasto was. It planted a seed that slowly sprouted after viewing his painting of Cypresses at the MET and Hiroshige's Momiji Ukiyo-e print. After those three works I've been committed to art. With what Camus says, It makes sense why I am in pursuit of landscape and nocturnal moonlight painting. It's rooted in those first inspirations which have sent me on many a detour through art history that evolve my skill.
Wonderful! Really enjoying your series, Ian. As a learning tool, the videos are short and concise, very manageable to digest. I look forward to Tuesdays!
This video should be seen by every artist on the planet. You brought out every vibration of spirituality within me and I'll bet my bottom dollar that the current canvas I'm working on will now take on a beauty I never thought or dreamed existed because you have reminded me of who I truly am, inside of that vibration. Beauty is the essence of one's soul. Thank you for teaching me to remember that and to use it when painting. I truly wept while listening to this video. I pray you've had a wonderful and safe trip to CO.
Thank you for sharing this moving video during your rafting trip - a real gem! So excited to hear all about it and thrilled that you went! Ian, you continue to enlighten me and I’m so fortunate to have spent this year with you in your classes. You never stop giving! You are one of a kind:)
Just began reading your book "Creative Authenticity" - this video fitted perfectly after finishing the first chapter "Searching for Beauty". Lots to think about. Thank you!
Very insightful. Joseph Campbell could not have explained it better. The Greeks valued order, truth and beauty and feared loss of identity and loss of connection to the cosmos. Today we connect and identify falsely thru social media; order has fallen into chaos; truth is without meaning, relative and arbitrary and perhaps, we have only beauty left to save us. Beauty connects us to the divine and awakens us from our slumber, reminding us who we really are. The experience of making art helps us survive the onslaught to our consciousness, from our crazy modern lifestyles, by reintegrating us with our subconscious. The shadow and the light in your paintings. Thanks Ian.
I love your thought process and the way you drill down your research into the roots of all things. This is spot on what my friend and I have been discussing, but through a spiritual lens, rather than an artistic one. You have me questioning those 2 - 3 images that speak to my soul. Mountains are definitely one and what I draw/paint most. Thank you!
Just wanna say "Thank You". After doing artwork non-stop for 21 years, my last painting was in 2016, and took a break. However, pandemic and lock-downs have forced me to remember why I started artwork as a kid in the first place. The past 5 years have been a synergistic process of creative pause, "remembering", and rediscovery. That and binge-watching your videos the past couple weeks has given me just the right nudge to want to paint again. River rafting plein air painting down the Colorado river sounds wonderful. I've been out on the hiking trails myself lately being inspired to paint again. Your videos are refreshing because I haven't heard art instruction with a focus on composition on this level since graduating art and design college 26 years ago. Most art instruction I've seen only focuses on painting technique and photo copying. Which is ok but, to me, it's like obsessing over the outer shell-covering of a house (i.e., shingles and siding) without having the underlying structural frame of a house to put anything onto. Out here in the country for a awhile. Just two words, humbly. "Thank You".
Well welcome back to the painting club. Delighted if I have had something to do with your reconnecting to that. And that it brings you joy. I understand loosing interest. It certainly is part of the issue, finding the avenues of expression that keep you engaged. And inspired. And listening to what you want to do. Good luck.
Its like the feeling we had as children. We thought nothing was impossible until we hit one restriction aftar another. That created the fear and enclosed our spirit. Hi from Sweden by the way!
That was such a great lesson in etymology, but even more a huge lesson in how to live a life with meaning and purpose. Yes, fear is hard to face, but almost always overcoming fear opens up new horizons and expands your knowledge of self and the world around you.
Provokingly insightful...Thank you for the interpretation! For the last several years I have been remembering as a kid maybe 9 or 10...I had this overwhelming desire to paint a Birch tree. Not an entire group of them but just one and it had to be in winter so that, in my young mind at the time, I could capture the snow as well as the dead grass peaking through...I can still smell the odor of the cheap watercolor paint set my mother finally purchased me. It’s a wonderful smell and memory... I always wondered what made such a young person, myself at he time, have such desire. Today I try my best to follow these desires. Every day is a blank canvas to me. Thanks again!
Wow Ian, this is brilliant. I love this video essay looking at etymology and the spiritual connection to your art. I really look forward to watching the rest of the series! Thank you for sharing this 💙
Thank you Ian for recalling my classical education at the skilled hands of the jesuits decades ago- the recollection of Latin roots, the distortion of evolved meanings and the “search for beauty.’ I look forward to your gifted weekly blend of the philosophical with the artistic, the merger of abstract with the detail and the deft way in which you educate. Thank you
Thank you again for your videos I have always wanted the answer to the Muse for decades and could never find it. You have explained this so well. And the question of Fear I have just realised whilst watching this that I have always been frightened to go forward with drawing and painting but now your explanation of Fear has unlocked the thought of the resistance I have been experiencing. I now think at this moment the fear was a message to go forward not to resist and I need to now get down to making my own art and enjoy the journey. Thank you so much for sharing your art and knowledge . I also think your a fine artist Best wishes Lynda PS I have already told a friend about you she is going to watch your videos today
Your videos are beyond words to me! I watch every one as they come out - and I'm going to go back and watch every single one you've published so far. I'm learning so much as an artist! And you are one perceptive being! Your explanation of the muse in this video has so much truth in it, and beauty! Hope your trip was the best! Can't wait to see the resulting paintings.
Indeed, to be inspired is to be connected to something bigger than ourselves. Most of the time we don't know where our drive comes from but we make art with certainty. I love your videos, they have so much great content in a short time.
The “Search for Beauty” spoke to me. Spot on and just what I needed to get into the studio. Thank you for this masterpiece share, although I am 2 years in arears!
This has been an interesting day... several amazing, soul touching moments. This is a perfect part of that arc, and I thank you for it. You are a blessing in my life.
The etymology of word "muse" comes from the greek word μαούσα - μούσα (maousa -mousa). Μούσα is the noun of the verb μάω-μω (mao-mo) that means: I am mentally looking (or asking) for something.
wow, that video was like reading a chapter of your book. Last night I was thinking about hiking the Grand Canyon from rim to rim in the fall then I heard what you are doing this week and I can't wait to see what you painted. Thanks, Tom.
HI Tom, that is a great hike, either staying at Phantom Ranch in the cabins or in the campsite. Big vistas. The view from the river is so different. More contained.
Grazie Ian. La paura di sbagliare o non essere all'altezza derivano da modelli di insegnamento ed educazione sociale errati, o troppo rivolti "per" diventare il migliore rispetto agli altri, e non migliori rispetto a noi stessi e da dove siamo partiti. Grazie per il tuo video, come artista e uomo, offri tanti spunti di riflessione.❤
Thank you Ian! You have touched my spiritual, creative, and much needed raisin d’etre of my artistic soul! Your videos are beautiful! Looking forward to those from your trip!
After finding you last week ... maybe the week before ... I have just completed binge watching your videos. Although a fiber artist vs a painter, I plan on redoing a few pieces I did not like and now know why! That so I can practice your principles without having to create something from scratch. And then I shall do two pieces that, after watching this video, I have been afraid to start. One is just an idea floating in my brain, the other a photograph my brother took and asked me to render in fiber art. (ha ha ... he's more confident in me than I am!) Thank you, Ian Roberts!
I connected very deeply with your words ... I found your videos about 3 weeks ago and had been trying your excercises, very happy to make simple forms and getting very nice outcome .. you are a wonderful teacher! I do need to see what you will paint in your adventure. Have a wonderful time! I have enjoyed as well reading here the comments of other artists, sharing the wonderful world of being into painting! Love from Mexico City!
oh my, that was great. never have I had more success than when I told my self- I'm not going to live my life in fear-and then I did something I had been afraid to do.
Beautiful! Gave me a lot to think about. Your speaking reminds me of a poem I wrote when I was 17 (50 years ago): “Into the halls of energy we dared, to find ourselves as beings aware.”
That's it. We're the antenna between Heaven and Earth. Divine and human. That's why we create. Each of us a different way. Expressing totality in the parts, Unity in diversity. Beautiful, thank you Ian.
I just discovered your videos a few days ago, and I'm ready for the tee shirt and the fan club. Your commentary on beauty and psychology is stunning. You felt like Noah. I see myself as like that Richard Dreyfuss character in Close Encounters who feels compelled to sculpt a form in his mashed potatoes. Certain images that come back again and again in different guises is what I seek in my art. Am enjoying your talks so much. Ironically I have an almost opposite background. My painting used to be somewhat like the landscape painting you do here. And now I'm moving more into the direction of large pictures with a strong abstract element. Forty years ago I was very opposed to abstraction (as genre) though I always loved Diebenkorn from whenever I first saw his art in reproduction. His visual intelligence is so evident in all he did. So I carved out an exception in my mind for him. Resisting "abstraction" was a necessary part of my learning, but I also always loved late Monet whose visual ideas are not, I suspect, something that we (or museum docents) understand at all. There's so much happening in those grand veils of color hovering over the lily pond. I hope your videos find a wide audience because they are filled with wisdom.
The above should read: "Certain images ... are" .... [subj/verb agreement]. And I had proofread my comment. Engl maj (tell no one). But was so enthused the error slipped by me.
Thanks so much Aletha. And good luck with that shift to abstraction. Once you have a good visual intelligence, to use your expression, it can be challenging to leave representation behind. All the best and good luck.
Funny, but when someone asked me why I paint, the word 'salvage' popped into my mind. Salvaging what? Something lost? What? I guess that's why I paint. The Camus quote certainly resonated with me.
I was thinking the same thing - that I was happy to listen and take on board what Ian is saying here but it does sound a little like something a preacher might say in it's tone which I would probably never listen to willingly 😂. That's what I get for having a closed mind lol
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition Of course you know that I didn't mean it in some crazy TV preacher context. Haha. I love art and painting, and really appreciate word studies, the philosophy and also the history-as I know you do. My real heart is with the Tonalists like George Inness and Whistler, going all the way through to Rothko and Wolf Kahn, etc. The poetry and intimacy of the Tonalist landscape has never left me. There is a spiritual component that just feeds my soul. Thank you for your hard work. Hope to see some of your Grand Canyon paintings.
So lovely to come across your channel Ian. Your story on your recurring thoughts of ‘the boat’ was particularly fascinating and oh so timely for my own journey. Thank you 🙏.
I just discovered your videos and have have now watched a couple. I love your "style" and appreciate your perspective. Your explanation of The Muse is inspiring. Not only do I paint but, I volunteer as a docent at our local University Museum. You've given me some ideas!
I am getting old. Your words made me think about why I choose to struggle so much in my art. Today, I finally did a sketch of my mother whom I lost years ago. It made me cry to look at her. I think I know what you mean.
I don't know what I was expecting but it was highly engaging, well written. It is good to reflect on these things especially at times when you think negatively about any endeavour like painting 'so what if I do it well, what good is it? Why am I bothering?' It's interesting the fear that arises just in starting another painting, every time - especially after just having finished a painting you are happy with. 'Why start this new one? And what are my motivations, are they pure? Do I really enjoy doing this or am I trying to create an image of myself?'
I was so enamored by a mind and the man attached to it that I made a whole art series based on his subject matter. I always heard of the muse but it was so powerful and delightful and somewhat anguishing to have met one, to have come under his spell.
Beautifully expressed Ian, you are a great teacher. I feel more courageous now and ready to complete a commission painting that's been most challenging.
Wow, this was a really great video for me. I have been struggling with recurring themes I don't understand in my painting. So this was really timely and appreciated. Thank you
‘Profound’, I wish I had Every word Written in book form, to keep by my side, to read frequently, to study, to reflect, to meditate, and try to extrapolate every message from your words, and to hopefully relate to the depth and complexity of your every thought. Your words felt like the ‘Sword of Truth’, as Scripture, laid down before the foundation of time. Journey To know thyself.
Ian thank you so much. Your videos and your art really inspire me and you express your philosophy in a way that rings so true. Thank you! Really looking forward to seeing your Grand Canyon art and hearing about your experience.
This a great! Thanks for sharing your quest about beauty. Seeing beauty is a deepening experience for me. Creating beauty is a different ball game. The fear of reaching my potential can be crippling at times. And little by little I experience the courage to take that leap of faith. Thanks Ian. I’ll check your blog on beauty.
Just great Ian!!!!!!! I just love your 'Musings'. let us be in continual love with what we are doing.. I am really looking forward to what you discovered in your most recent adventure!!!!
WUAU , i litterly heard your video 3 times ! beauty can also be a stolen moment , often unexpected . Wish you a great trip and a " rencontre "with your Muse . Anxious to see the result next week
Very Interesting perspective!!! I will listen and listen ..... Thank You MUCH for bringing More of Self. I Appreciate your Truths when You share Your Phenomenal Artistry. Do enjoy your trip and hopefully one day will also be on a painting, and sharing of insights excursion. Thank You Always. Cape Town.
Very interesting! I have been thinking about conquering fear and today's obsession with safety and this gave me more reassurance that going towards the fear is the right thing. Well, somehow smartly of course.. :P
Loved it! Next week, what I want to know is how you manage to paint on a rafting trip! I am going to the Ecuadorian rainforest and the Galápagos Islands later this year - I didn’t imagine being able to paint on that trip. Hoping for some ideas from you.
So this was a rafting trip designed by painters for painters. We painted morning and afternoon rather than what most people do is stop sometime during the day for hiking. My experience is if you go on a painting trip and that is the focus you can get some painting done. If you are travelling, particularly with non painters, you generally dont' get much painting done. You can get good photo reference for later.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition That makes a lot of sense. I’m planning on a lot of photos - including under water with a GoPro. I’ll bring a sketch pad, though. Looking forward to your video! Have a great trip.
Wonderful explanation of fear and our muse. It truly is a Spiritual journey to be an artist. A spiritual teacher told me recently that when we are painting and get lost in time as we create, we are actually communing with the divine and bringing an energetic piece of the divine into our work. Those that resonate with our work feel it in their hearts too, a recognition of the divine source emanating from our creation.
That’s beautiful
I try to "capture the moment". I sold an acrylic landscape, after an artist. A wind swept tree by a road with long shadows and far view. And you can really hear the wind in the branches. I then took a risk. A tramp opposite in the sun who I imagine enjoys the sound too. An African woman
lawyer bought it.
Congratulations!
HI Janet, I think this is exactly right. The quality of the awareness we have while we paint I think gets imbedded in the image, not literally, but then the viewer feels that awareness. I find so much presence when I am painting well.
Wow, Janet, that is beautifully expressed.
“Understanding Your Muse” has exposed my puzzling fear of painting. I am inspired by your video and shall bring out my art supplies with a new awareness. Fear of failure, in general, is a crippling handicap. Thank you for
sharing a new attitude.
20 years ago, as an industrial design student, I explored the aesthetics of one of the "sublime" things that humans "fear" and yet are powerfully drawn towards. Fire. Your little talk was a memory for me of all the ideas that came out of that exploration. Thank you for making me remember :) The best part of making anything, for me, is the state of flow into which the artist disappears and only when it ends finally sees what they have done. Now I will always associate that state with "muse". The hidden meaning of words is fascinating. Like art, which is an abstraction, words are abstract symbols. Layers on layers.
Thanks for these ideas. I love words that have those hidden layers. Like the word awe, which now a waiter will say when you order a chicken sandwich but which originally meant more like falling on your knees before God. You know cracked open and laid bare.
This is exactly it, Ian. This is what I feel I am doing when I paint. When I visualise what is happening - I am channeling a voice or an energy that comes from nature, passes through me, and which I absolutely have to release back into the world through painting. And it doesn't matter what other people think about it. It is what it is. It is such a wonderful thing not to stand in its way but just to allow it.
That is well said. And it is easy to get in your own way with all kinds of mental chatter. But when it flows and we get out of the way it is magic.
I am so grateful to you for setting me free from the constraints of my own “thinking”. It was paralyzing when it came to painting, you have helped me not to overthink, that’s a good thing. Have a beautiful painting adventure, how exciting.
I'm delighted you found the video helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to compose and share this! I’m a metalsmith and came looking for an understanding of what a ‘muse’ is and you brought it full circle back to some recent ‘musings’ and thoughts about a importance of beauty. What a gift
We artists are standing on the frontier of material and spiritual world, translating in colors and forms the emotions. When we sucessfuly transmit the sense of amusement, that is beautful.
NIcely said.
Wow, what a profound insight to ponder on.... it is so important to stop and reflect on the muse, fear and beauty and our connection to the sublime that makes or stops us to create. Thank you so much, Jan, for this fantastic video❤!
I liked this one Ian. Lots to ponder. When you said the experience of fear, or perhaps I'd call it deep awe, while the lightening and thunder roar, we feel so small and it opens this tiny perception of ourself to enter this vast interior of potential, and we become revealed. Maybe it also cracks open the barrier between us and the world and we no longer feel so separate from that power and beauty.
Hi Andrea, I didn't mention it in this video, it would be in one of the others in the series, but the sublime is that mixture of beauty and fear that cracks us open. Glad you liked it.
As someone who has been working with a muse intensely, I appreciate this. I treat it much like Plato's "daimon", signing all my work with the title I've given to my muse. The Camus quote really hit home. I can identify at least three great works: the first being when I saw Starry Night in person as a teenager. It was my first time viewing a Van Gogh and realizing how thick the impasto was. It planted a seed that slowly sprouted after viewing his painting of Cypresses at the MET and Hiroshige's Momiji Ukiyo-e print. After those three works I've been committed to art. With what Camus says, It makes sense why I am in pursuit of landscape and nocturnal moonlight painting. It's rooted in those first inspirations which have sent me on many a detour through art history that evolve my skill.
Wonderful! Really enjoying your series, Ian. As a learning tool, the videos are short and concise, very manageable to digest. I look forward to Tuesdays!
Thanks for letting me know Tammy. With best wishes.
This video should be seen by every artist on the planet. You brought out every vibration of spirituality within me and I'll bet my bottom dollar that the current canvas I'm working on will now take on a beauty I never thought or dreamed existed because you have reminded me of who I truly am, inside of that vibration. Beauty is the essence of one's soul. Thank you for teaching me to remember that and to use it when painting. I truly wept while listening to this video. I pray you've had a wonderful and safe trip to CO.
Susie, thank you so much for sharing that with me. I really appreciate it. And the trip was great.
Thank you for sharing this moving video during your rafting trip - a real gem! So excited to hear all about it and thrilled that you went! Ian, you continue to enlighten me and I’m so fortunate to have spent this year with you in your classes. You never stop giving! You are one of a kind:)
Thanks Deb. See you on the 5th. Best wishes.
Just began reading your book "Creative Authenticity" - this video fitted perfectly after finishing the first chapter "Searching for Beauty". Lots to think about. Thank you!
I was greatly moved by this and shed a few tears.
Thank you for letting me know Natalie. Best wishes.
Very insightful. Joseph Campbell could not have explained it better. The Greeks valued order, truth and beauty and feared loss of identity and loss of connection to the cosmos. Today we connect and identify falsely thru social media; order has fallen into chaos; truth is without meaning, relative and arbitrary and perhaps, we have only beauty left to save us. Beauty connects us to the divine and awakens us from our slumber, reminding us who we really are. The experience of making art helps us survive the onslaught to our consciousness, from our crazy modern lifestyles, by reintegrating us with our subconscious. The shadow and the light in your paintings. Thanks Ian.
I love your thought process and the way you drill down your research into the roots of all things. This is spot on what my friend and I have been discussing, but through a spiritual lens, rather than an artistic one. You have me questioning those 2 - 3 images that speak to my soul. Mountains are definitely one and what I draw/paint most. Thank you!
you have insprired me beyond words, and this lecture is of particular importance to me at this very moment. So Thankyou for all that you do.
Just wanna say "Thank You". After doing artwork non-stop for 21 years, my last painting was in 2016, and took a break. However, pandemic and lock-downs have forced me to remember why I started artwork as a kid in the first place. The past 5 years have been a synergistic process of creative pause, "remembering", and rediscovery. That and binge-watching your videos the past couple weeks has given me just the right nudge to want to paint again. River rafting plein air painting down the Colorado river sounds wonderful. I've been out on the hiking trails myself lately being inspired to paint again. Your videos are refreshing because I haven't heard art instruction with a focus on composition on this level since graduating art and design college 26 years ago. Most art instruction I've seen only focuses on painting technique and photo copying. Which is ok but, to me, it's like obsessing over the outer shell-covering of a house (i.e., shingles and siding) without having the underlying structural frame of a house to put anything onto. Out here in the country for a awhile. Just two words, humbly. "Thank You".
Well welcome back to the painting club. Delighted if I have had something to do with your reconnecting to that. And that it brings you joy. I understand loosing interest. It certainly is part of the issue, finding the avenues of expression that keep you engaged. And inspired. And listening to what you want to do. Good luck.
Its like the feeling we had as children. We thought nothing was impossible until we hit one restriction aftar another. That created the fear and enclosed our spirit. Hi from Sweden by the way!
That was such a great lesson in etymology, but even more a huge lesson in how to live a life with meaning and purpose. Yes, fear is hard to face, but almost always overcoming fear opens up new horizons and expands your knowledge of self and the world around you.
this is a timeless, distillation of words we use often. Lovely and insightful.
River rafting in the Grand Canyon sounds like a BALL! Have a good time Ian, we appreciate all that you do, and hope you come back refreshed!
Show and tell on Tuesday. The canyon trip was great.
Provokingly insightful...Thank you for the interpretation! For the last several years I have been remembering as a kid maybe 9 or 10...I had this overwhelming desire to paint a Birch tree. Not an entire group of them but just one and it had to be in winter so that, in my young mind at the time, I could capture the snow as well as the dead grass peaking through...I can still smell the odor of the cheap watercolor paint set my mother finally purchased me. It’s a wonderful smell and memory... I always wondered what made such a young person, myself at he time, have such desire. Today I try my best to follow these desires. Every day is a blank canvas to me. Thanks again!
Wow Ian, this is brilliant. I love this video essay looking at etymology and the spiritual connection to your art. I really look forward to watching the rest of the series! Thank you for sharing this 💙
Very engaging and oh so helpful. Ian, you have masterly found a way, a clear and concise way to explain and reveal these deep ways. Bless you!
Thank you Ian for recalling my classical education at the skilled hands of the jesuits decades ago- the recollection of Latin roots, the distortion of evolved meanings and the “search for beauty.’ I look forward to your gifted weekly blend of the philosophical with the artistic, the merger of abstract with the detail and the deft way in which you educate. Thank you
Hi Will, that is a really nice summation of what you feel I am doing. Thank you.
Thank you again for your videos
I have always wanted the answer to the Muse for decades and could never find it.
You have explained this so well.
And the question of Fear I have just realised whilst watching this that I have always been frightened to go forward with drawing and painting but now your explanation of Fear has unlocked the thought of the resistance I have been experiencing.
I now think at this moment the fear was a message to go forward
not to resist and I need to now get down to making my own art and enjoy the journey.
Thank you so much for sharing your art and knowledge .
I also think your a fine artist
Best wishes Lynda
PS I have already told a friend about you she is going to watch your videos today
Your videos are beyond words to me! I watch every one as they come out - and I'm going to go back and watch every single one you've published so far. I'm learning so much as an artist! And you are one perceptive being! Your explanation of the muse in this video has so much truth in it, and beauty! Hope your trip was the best! Can't wait to see the resulting paintings.
Mary-Chris thanks so much for letting me know that you enjoyed the video, and the others as well. Trip was great, show and tell on Tuesday.
Indeed, to be inspired is to be connected to something bigger than ourselves. Most of the time we don't know where our drive comes from but we make art with certainty. I love your videos, they have so much great content in a short time.
Thank you. I appreciate your letting me know you are enjoying them. Best wishes.
The “Search for Beauty” spoke to me. Spot on and just what I needed to get into the studio. Thank you for this masterpiece share, although I am 2 years in arears!
This has been an interesting day... several amazing, soul touching moments. This is a perfect part of that arc, and I thank you for it. You are a blessing in my life.
Thanks so much Diana. Glad to be part of a great day.
Thank you Ian, learned much more in 9 minutes than years of reading and internet browsing. Time to step toward my fear!
Really delighted you enjoyed the video John. Yes, facing fear.
That speech was unbelievably helpful to me. I will view those videos to which you referred. Thank you so much.
So much to reflect on in this one. Beautiful presentation of ideas and perspective on the creative process.
Thanks Joyce. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for your videos and words!
it does my heart feel good that world have some people like you
The etymology of word "muse" comes from the greek word μαούσα - μούσα (maousa -mousa). Μούσα is the noun of the verb μάω-μω (mao-mo) that means: I am mentally looking (or asking) for something.
wow, that video was like reading a chapter of your book. Last night I was thinking about hiking the Grand Canyon from rim to rim in the fall then I heard what you are doing this week and I can't wait to see what you painted. Thanks, Tom.
HI Tom, that is a great hike, either staying at Phantom Ranch in the cabins or in the campsite. Big vistas. The view from the river is so different. More contained.
I was moved also by the reality of fear and the fact that going toward it is to risk, to try. Thank you.
Grazie Ian. La paura di sbagliare o non essere all'altezza derivano da modelli di insegnamento ed educazione sociale errati, o troppo rivolti "per" diventare il migliore rispetto agli altri, e non migliori rispetto a noi stessi e da dove siamo partiti.
Grazie per il tuo video, come artista e uomo, offri tanti spunti di riflessione.❤
Ian, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! You are so in tune.
Delighted that you found it helpful
Thank you Ian! You have touched my spiritual, creative, and much needed raisin d’etre of my artistic soul! Your videos are beautiful! Looking forward to those from your trip!
Really delighted you are enjoying the videos Mary. Show and tell on Tuesday.
After finding you last week ... maybe the week before ... I have just completed binge watching your videos. Although a fiber artist vs a painter, I plan on redoing a few pieces I did not like and now know why! That so I can practice your principles without having to create something from scratch. And then I shall do two pieces that, after watching this video, I have been afraid to start. One is just an idea floating in my brain, the other a photograph my brother took and asked me to render in fiber art. (ha ha ... he's more confident in me than I am!) Thank you, Ian Roberts!
You are most welcome Robin. I'm delighted you find the videos helpful. Best wishes.
I connected very deeply with your words ... I found your videos about 3 weeks ago and had been trying your excercises, very happy to make simple forms and getting very nice outcome .. you are a wonderful teacher! I do need to see what you will paint in your adventure. Have a wonderful time! I have enjoyed as well reading here the comments of other artists, sharing the wonderful world of being into painting! Love from Mexico City!
Hi Cristy, I'm delighted you found my videos and I'll show the paintings on Tuesday. Great trip.
oh my, that was great. never have I had more success than when I told my self- I'm not going to live my life in fear-and then I did something I had been afraid to do.
Wow this is a wonderful talk. I really appreciate the deeper meaning behind these concepts now. Thank you!
You're so welcome Sarah.
You are a good teacher; much respect!
Thank you!
Beautiful! Gave me a lot to think about. Your speaking reminds me of a poem I wrote when I was 17 (50 years ago): “Into the halls of energy we dared, to find ourselves as beings aware.”
Ian, thank you for excellent video. Safe travels and happy painting!!!
Thanks Ria. Trip was great. See you the 5th.
Purity, void from anything but essence. Thank you! I'll be listening to this video every week to help me guide my days.
Really delighted you enjoyed it Patricia. Best wishes.
That's it. We're the antenna between Heaven and Earth. Divine and human. That's why we create. Each of us a different way. Expressing totality in the parts, Unity in diversity. Beautiful, thank you Ian.
Well said. Glad you liked it.
I just discovered your videos a few days ago, and I'm ready for the tee shirt and the fan club. Your commentary on beauty and psychology is stunning. You felt like Noah. I see myself as like that Richard Dreyfuss character in Close Encounters who feels compelled to sculpt a form in his mashed potatoes. Certain images that come back again and again in different guises is what I seek in my art.
Am enjoying your talks so much. Ironically I have an almost opposite background. My painting used to be somewhat like the landscape painting you do here. And now I'm moving more into the direction of large pictures with a strong abstract element. Forty years ago I was very opposed to abstraction (as genre) though I always loved Diebenkorn from whenever I first saw his art in reproduction. His visual intelligence is so evident in all he did. So I carved out an exception in my mind for him. Resisting "abstraction" was a necessary part of my learning, but I also always loved late Monet whose visual ideas are not, I suspect, something that we (or museum docents) understand at all. There's so much happening in those grand veils of color hovering over the lily pond.
I hope your videos find a wide audience because they are filled with wisdom.
The above should read: "Certain images ... are" .... [subj/verb agreement]. And I had proofread my comment. Engl maj (tell no one). But was so enthused the error slipped by me.
Thanks so much Aletha. And good luck with that shift to abstraction. Once you have a good visual intelligence, to use your expression, it can be challenging to leave representation behind. All the best and good luck.
Funny, but when someone asked me why I paint, the word 'salvage' popped into my mind. Salvaging what? Something lost? What? I guess that's why I paint. The Camus quote certainly resonated with me.
So much wisdom in such short message. I found your words deeply moving. I will definitely share it. Thank you.
Thanks so much Ivonne. Glad you liked it.
"The Church of Ian" where you have better "sermons" than any preacher. Haha. Much respect. Thank you.
👍
I was thinking the same thing - that I was happy to listen and take on board what Ian is saying here but it does sound a little like something a preacher might say in it's tone which I would probably never listen to willingly 😂. That's what I get for having a closed mind lol
Now that's an interesting image. A preacher. Glad you enjoyed the video. All the best
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition Of course you know that I didn't mean it in some crazy TV preacher context. Haha. I love art and painting, and really appreciate word studies, the philosophy and also the history-as I know you do. My real heart is with the Tonalists like George Inness and Whistler, going all the way through to Rothko and Wolf Kahn, etc. The poetry and intimacy of the Tonalist landscape has never left me. There is a spiritual component that just feeds my soul. Thank you for your hard work. Hope to see some of your Grand Canyon paintings.
Amen! :)
So lovely to come across your channel Ian. Your story on your recurring thoughts of ‘the boat’ was particularly fascinating and oh so timely for my own journey. Thank you 🙏.
I just discovered your videos and have have now watched a couple. I love your "style" and appreciate your perspective. Your explanation of The Muse is inspiring. Not only do I paint but, I volunteer as a docent at our local University Museum. You've given me some ideas!
Thanks Ian! Excellent as always. Picked up a copy of your book, Mastering Composition. Looking forward to reading it.
Cheers -Greg
Delighted you liked it Greg. And may the book bring many happy hours. With best wishes.
I am getting old. Your words made me think about why I choose to struggle so much in my art. Today, I finally did a sketch of my mother whom I lost years ago. It made me cry to look at her. I think I know what you mean.
Loved this. I’m locked down due to COVID and bingeing on your videos Ian. Thank you so much for the “gems” I’m finding in them.
I don't know what I was expecting but it was highly engaging, well written. It is good to reflect on these things especially at times when you think negatively about any endeavour like painting 'so what if I do it well, what good is it? Why am I bothering?'
It's interesting the fear that arises just in starting another painting, every time - especially after just having finished a painting you are happy with. 'Why start this new one? And what are my motivations, are they pure? Do I really enjoy doing this or am I trying to create an image of myself?'
What a lot you have given us to meditate upon! Very greatly - and gratefully - appreciated.
I was so enamored by a mind and the man attached to it that I made a whole art series based on his subject matter. I always heard of the muse but it was so powerful and delightful and somewhat anguishing to have met one, to have come under his spell.
Thank you so much dear Ian, I'm so happy to get familiar with you🌿💙
Beautifully expressed Ian, you are a great teacher. I feel more courageous now and ready to complete a commission painting that's been most challenging.
Wow, this was a really great video for me. I have been struggling with recurring themes I don't understand in my painting. So this was really timely and appreciated. Thank you
It's curious sometimes isn't it. Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you, Ian. Your story takes me back in time to a place that I reasoned away.
I really needed to hear this right now and connect the dots to other transformations I'm exploring. Thank you!!
Thank you..so glad you are doing something fun and purposeful. Can't wait to see the photos.
Yes next Tuesday paintings of the Grand Canyon.
‘Profound’, I wish I had Every word Written in book form, to keep by my side, to read frequently, to study, to reflect, to meditate, and try to extrapolate every message from your words, and to hopefully relate to the depth and complexity of your every thought.
Your words felt like the ‘Sword of Truth’, as Scripture, laid down before the foundation of time.
Journey To know thyself.
Ian thank you so much. Your videos and your art really inspire me and you express your philosophy in a way that rings so true. Thank you! Really looking forward to seeing your Grand Canyon art and hearing about your experience.
You are very welcome Sally.
This a great! Thanks for sharing your quest about beauty. Seeing beauty is a deepening experience for me. Creating beauty is a different ball game. The fear of reaching my potential can be crippling at times. And little by little I experience the courage to take that leap of faith. Thanks Ian. I’ll check your blog on beauty.
Happy to find your channel. Thanks for sharing your insights. 🎨
Just great Ian!!!!!!! I just love your 'Musings'. let us be in continual love with what we are doing.. I am really looking forward to what you discovered in your most recent adventure!!!!
Glad you liked the video. Yes, next Tuesday show and tell of Grand Canyon paintings.
Wonderful and inspiring insights. Thank you.
You are welcome Mark. Best wishes.
Thanks Ian. That was really helpful. Have a wonderful trip. I'm looking forward to seeing the paintings.
Glad you enjoyed the video. Canyon paintings on Tuesday.
How exciting.....look forward to learning about your trip and seeing your Plein aire works!
Yes, coming up on Tuesday.
I think I'll watch this everyday, first thing. Thanks for this!
Such an encouraging and insightful message Ian. Liberating. Thank you so much.
So true about those audios in museums. Glad I'm not the only one to find them enormously distracting.
WUAU , i litterly heard your video 3 times ! beauty can also be a stolen moment , often unexpected . Wish you a great trip and a " rencontre "with your Muse . Anxious to see the result next week
Glad you liked it Christine. And that is true. Beauty often comes in such brief bursts and we are left with the sensation, the memory of that.
This resonated with me a lot. Hope you had a great painting trip. I'm going to check out your video series now.
Glad you enjoyed it! The trip was great. Thank you.
Wow, rafting trip. Hard core plein air, Ian.
Thank you Ian. What an uplifting video. Many smiles.
Glad you liked it Roz. Best wishes.
Just what I needed as I’m in the midst of an existential crisis. Thanks. I’m now about to depart on another hero’s journey
Very Interesting perspective!!!
I will listen and listen .....
Thank You MUCH for bringing More of Self.
I Appreciate your Truths when You share Your Phenomenal Artistry.
Do enjoy your trip and hopefully one day will also be on a painting, and sharing of insights excursion. Thank You Always. Cape Town.
Really delighted you enjoyed the video and you are enjoying the series. Trip was great. Thank you.
That’s wonderful. I appreciate the encouragement to keep it up. Thanks 🙏.
The production used on this video was great, very professional and well executed.
The cinematographer had won a ton of awards in Australia and had a bunch of people come in to help make it. I agree the production quality was great.
Women are the best muses a poet can have....I have written thousands of poems because of women and will continue to do so..... 🙂
Very interesting! I have been thinking about conquering fear and today's obsession with safety and this gave me more reassurance that going towards the fear is the right thing. Well, somehow smartly of course.. :P
Well that was like going to church! Profoundly moving.
Ian, I will regard my Muse a bit differently now. This was fabulous. Thank you.
Hi Jane, glad you liked it. All the best to you.
I really enjoyed seeing this special video.🙏🏾thank you Ian Robert sir
You are very welcome Usha.
Thanks for sharing this I found it especially timely for me. Enjoy your adventure!
Trip was great. Glad you liked the video.
I learnt about my muse through writing. It is very helpful to listen.
I like that "helpful to listen". She speaks quietly I find.
Loved it! Next week, what I want to know is how you manage to paint on a rafting trip! I am going to the Ecuadorian rainforest and the Galápagos Islands later this year - I didn’t imagine being able to paint on that trip. Hoping for some ideas from you.
So this was a rafting trip designed by painters for painters. We painted morning and afternoon rather than what most people do is stop sometime during the day for hiking. My experience is if you go on a painting trip and that is the focus you can get some painting done. If you are travelling, particularly with non painters, you generally dont' get much painting done. You can get good photo reference for later.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition That makes a lot of sense. I’m planning on a lot of photos - including under water with a GoPro. I’ll bring a sketch pad, though. Looking forward to your video! Have a great trip.
Beyond words this is...
Thank you i need it.
i loved this! thank you
It has made me think deeply on my future endeavours
Such an engaging and motivational video
Thankyou so much for that . So thought provoking such truth .it sets one free to take it all of on board . Cheers Dee
Glad you liked it Dee. Best wishes.
Excellent, a man after my own heart.