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"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." - Thomas Merton

The great spiritual writer Thomas Merton once said, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” We have all stood in front of that special image that sang to our soul. It has been said that the art we choose to hang on our walls is a visual representation of who we are and what we believe in. The resonance of art is deeply personal and what works for one person might do the opposite for another.

  Colorado River Glow by Phil Wagner

"That Colorado river moves on so silently, peacefully, unpretentious, and yet its power is absolute. Through solid rock, the accumulated rain and ice-melt off the watershed of the Colorado Plateau easily cut the Grand Canyon a mile deep. Human life certainly wouldn't be here without water. Our bodies are 90% water; no wonder we are so mysteriously fascinated with it. Next to enjoyably watching the flames of a midnight campfire for hours, I enjoy painting a river rolling by day after day and night after night, always its colors and shapes changing like flames in their infinite variation. How does one capture and paint that energy?" - Phil Wagner

Art helps a person to find out who they are, what they like and how they feel about something they have seen and/or heard through an art project. "...lose ourselves at the same time" -

  Mule's Ear Daiseies by Peggy Harty

"I love Tom Till's photograph of one of the big monuments in Arches with Mule's Ear Daisies in the foreground.  This spring I headed for Arches on a gloriously cloudy evening and found the Mule's Ear Daisies blooming in a most opportune spot!  I painted this on a textured board from photos I took that evening." - Peggy Harty

Art helps a person to express themselves completely. Sometimes people choose to stay in a box, do not dare anything, always perfect, scared to make mistakes. But when you do art...there are no limits as to what you can achieve. You do not have to stay conservative, you do not have to keep yourself in check. You can "lose yourself" by loosening up without worries.

  Fresh Air After the Rain by Larry Christensen

"The rain is past, the air smells clean, and the colors are so vivid it’s almost unreal." - Larry Christensen

Maybe Henry David Thoreau said it best "The world is but a canvas to our imagination".  Is the greatest achievement for an artist, to connect with the viewer? Have the viewer complete the journey that the artist began?

  White Pockets Milky Way by Robert McKendrick

"I believe the purpose of a photograph is to evoke an emotional response. The experience of growing up and living in nature has done this for me and by selecting just the right place and moment to make a photograph that conveys those emotions " Robert McKendrick

What do you think?