Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Sing to me of the man, Muse

Dustin: So you're a painter?

George (nodding): Yeah. I mean I'd like to be. I just don't know what to paint.

Dustin: What do you mean?

George: It's just that every time I think of a subject, or even try to visualise an image of what I think I should paint, I just feel like I'm full of shit. Like I'm trying to be something I'm really not.

Dustin (staring at a painting on George's bedroom wall): Yeah, that's the hardest part, you know?

George: And what if it's not any good? What I can do -

Dustin (shrugging): Some say it's bullshit. Some say it's a masterpiece. You gotta be honest with yourself, man. Figure out what you're in it for. You might think it's art. You might think it's money on a wall. If you've got some talent, you gotta hone it. Read about it. Look at stuff in galleries. You can't live inside your own head all the time.

George: Does that make me not a painter?

Dustin: No, that's not what I meant. What you're doing is fantastic. This is what you should paint. Atleast until you evolve into something else. The fact that you struggle with it is a really good thing, you know what I mean?

George: I guess. But I keep thinking is it really meant to be this hard? If it's hard, then it's not natural. And you can't force something like that.

Dustin: Yeah, but you gotta exercise that muscle. It gets easier, I promise. Besides, how can you call yourself a painter if you don't paint?

- from The Art of Getting By.

8 comments:

Sakshi said...

"You can't live inside your own head all the time."
Yes you can't.
Follow your dreams. ALWAYS!

mgeek said...

Sometimes I wonder how much of "born-genius" combines with how many of dedicated nights to make a masterpiece. Be it Bobby Fischer, Edison, Beethoven or Copernicus... The composition is a mystery, or is it?

Tangled up in blue... said...

sakshi, I agree. That line really resonated with me, too. :)

mgeek, I think we can look to Einstein here. He has an oft-quoted but sort-of-true definition of genius - 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. :)

But yeah, it is an interesting question to ponder. Like Van Gogh for example. He's considered a genius now but he used to spend days and days painting, trying to perfect his work. Same goes for Edison - who made perseverance an art form.

But without that initial spark, I dont think only hard work is enough. I mean, if I made even a thousand paintings, it wouldn't make me a painter.

But this conversation really contains a lot of things I've wondered about myself. It was like two halves of my brain talking to each other. The categorical and the creative. :D

Soin said...

you could always be termed humane, even if you lack that humanity part. so if you could imagine art, you artist enough..free

Soin said...

you could always be termed humane, even if you lack that humanity part. so if you could imagine art, you artist enough..free

Tangled up in blue... said...

:) Thank you, soin. That was a truly lovely comment. :)

T. said...

I dint think much of dat movie though. The actress emma roberts was good. i couldnt believe freddie highmore was once the kid in finding neverland. howd he grow up so quick?? :-D

Tangled up in blue... said...

T., I agree. The movie was above average but barely just. Emma Roberts was really good. She comes across as this really sweet girl. You should watch It's Kind of a Funny Story, she's great in it.

And yeah, I was thinking the EXACT SAME thing. He was like three feet tall just yesterday and now he's this strapping dimpled cutie! :D

Okay, not to be cradle-robbing but he's primarily the reason I liked his whiny character so much. :)