The Role of Art…

…is difficult to define. The question often is: Does it need being defined? Or is art beyond words? Beyond any philosophical contemplations that the human mind comes up with…?

Well. I would say a big YES to that question. To me, art is beyond words, beyond measure, and definitely beyond the confines of the psyche: Art has an inherently transcendental quality to it.

Nevertheless, I would like to explore the role of art in this post by putting my individual perspective to the mix and stringing together a chain of thoughts that might seem non-related at all, but that I feel are actually deeply interconnected with each other.

Then there is of course the other part of the title that speaks about “The Primordial Entwinement”. But what is that exactly?

Ok, I hear you – too much introduction – let’s just jump in with a little disclaimer that might already clarify what you can expect from this little post:

Attention: A colorful mixture between philosophy, art-talk and nature-appreciation ahead!

Alright, don’t mind the little disclaimer above — I’m just excited to write and share this with you!

First things first: I want to honor the almost mythologically wonderful person that revived my intrinsic love for painting and diminished my inner critic:

I want to emphasize how incredibly, wholesomely big-hearted and life-affirmingly inspiring the man behind the series “The Joy of Painting” was — and still is — to hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people.

Bob Ross’ style of painting, talking, teaching and presenting ideas to the viewer is both relaxing and exhilarating to me.

Exhilarating?

Maybe not the word you would expect to hear, when talking about an artist, whose voice is as calm and soothing and buttery smooth as the oil paints he is using! Maybe this is only my subjective experience and perception of “The Joy of Painting”, but I feel a deep sense of comfort, when watching the show, coupled with the fiery urge to create something beautiful, without restraint and without the need to put in weeks and weeks of work.

I do feel that this was his intention all along — as he kept pointing out in many episodes — that he wants to make painting accessible to everyone, as anyone can be a painter, and each of us can bring something unique, wholesome and beautiful to the table, without having to train for decades to become a master.

This is the power of creation!

With boundless imagination, creativity and inspiration by the unbelievable works of mother nature, we can tap into our inner creative sources and enhance every little part of ourselves (and parts of the world) by sharing our perspective, our voice… our heart.

And what would painting (and making art in general) be without a heart? I think it would fall flat within the first few brushstrokes… Now — again, this doesn’t mean that we have to be divinely inspired and guided to create masterpiece after masterpiece, it merely means that we want, and I believe: have to, share our innate creativity with other people.

Why?

In order to propagate life-affirming energy. In order to shut down our harsh inner critic(s), and in order to proof to ourselves that we have power and are capable to be the creators of our life!

And, in the process of sharing our work (and thereby some of the most personal parts of our psyche and heart), we are able to uplift each other, inspire strangers and friends to tap into their own potential and to unifyingly craft a future filled with art, joy and appreciation of the natural world.

And this leads me to the next point:

Bob Ross’ demeanor, personality and way of being in the world emanated, and still emanates, an aura of possibility and creative opportunity. The episodes of his show are like a transcendental radio station, that keep on sending out waves of inspiration, embedded within a soothing, loving frequency.

To me, he conveys one of the most primal, foundational concepts of human beings living in a world that is not their own, but that is part of them, as much as they are part of it — or her, if we view mother Gaia as the planetary manifestation of primarily female energy. This “being part of” is reflected in our DNA, in our ways of behavior and in the energy we (choose to) send out.

Of course, I hear you say, “But humans aren’t really taking good care of nature… Our behaviors don’t reflect that we are part of it…”

And I would absolutely, 100% agree. But here, it’s more about the conceptual reflection – of the potentiality if you will. It is about how we have to and should behave and relate to according to the laws of nature, in order to save and nourish our home-planet.

So, our roots are “entangled” with the roots of all the trees and all the matter and non-matter residing in, on or around the planes of Gaia.

Let’s call this concept, or idea:

The primordial entwinement.

Sounds a bit too heady? I don’t care, I like it, as I came up with it right now on the spot, hehe.

The primordial entwinement would be the bio-spiritulogical link between man and nature. Pretty straight forward: We, as human beings, are inherently connected to the matter and structure of Gaia. That idea seems quite explicable to most.

But (and that’s not that apparent to a lot of people): We’re also innately connected to the energy fields and aura of our beautiful planet; hence we are bio-spiritulogically linked to nature. You could say that we, as well as all other beings are embedded into the ecosphere, structure and energetic grid of Gaia, just as much as all the rocks, trees, rivers and plants are. Animals of course as well: Fauna and flora dancing in unison while being entwined with the laws of nature, the arms of Gaia and the invisible waves of an ever-lasting, life-affirming stream of consciousness.

Now, what does this have to do with…

Painting Nature inspired by Bob Ross??

The answer is simple: A few weeks ago, I made my first-ever Bob Ross inspired (water-mixable) oil painting — using the wet-on-wet technique (“Alla Prima” for traditional fancy pants lovers out there); and despite my already strong connection to trees, rivers, flowers and inhabitants of juicy sap-green, sparklingly fairy-magic, potentially unicorn-accommodating forests (that’s a lot of adjectives, I agree!), I still found myself feeling once more pushed closer to the essence and welcoming, enveloping nature of nature:

I called my finished painting The Mountain of Serenity and felt hooked to continue the process. Now I’m about to start my fourth Bob Ross styled painting and I’m absolutely loving the technique and the joy it brings me! And with this joy came the urge of linking Art and Nature together, as so many artists have done in previous centuries (and with such amazing amount of detail and realism!)

The primordial entwinement, aka us being intricately, intrinsically connected to the essence of mama Gaia, is reflected in Art more than in anything else. At least that’s what I would argue…

We talked about potentiality before and I want to come back to that element: When we relate to something, there is always a part of us (deep inside), that we might not be aware of (let alone see with our very own eyes) that mirrors our environment. Now, this can be a habituated projection from someone else (internalized behaviors, manners, styles of speech, thought-patterns — even emotions!) or it can be a literal fragment of the environment that has touched our heart & soul and that is now part of us (more or less).

Think about the last time you were on a vacation on the beach, gazing in awe at the beauty of the sun vanishing behind the horizon, creating marvelously mesmerizing reflections upon the ocean’s surface, covering the surrounding area in a warm reddish-orangey vibe, leaving everyone feeling a little closer to their heart (consciously or unconsciously)…

Or maybe you felt like a little child, when, some time ago, you were picking flowers from a field, collecting them for a loved one, smiling while you smelled the scent and inhaled the colors of nature’s gifts…

Whatever it is — what I want to say is this: Art does exactly that. So…

The Role of Art is…?

To reconnect us to our higher self.

To show appreciation of the world by reflecting on it.

To ignite our purpose and recalibrate our inner compass towards love, harmony and gratitude.

To heal our inner child and to celebrate life.

Art reconnects us to our senses, to our essence and to our heart, if done with love and care.

Art can reflect the highest, most divine forms and shapes of nature — and it doesn’t have to perfect, nowhere near even! In fact, a child’s quirky drawing of a garden with an oversized apple tree, a cat and some cute daisies can be as profound and “complete” as a masterpiece by Rembrandt or DaVinci.

What we perceive as beautiful in nature becomes an inspiration for the art-process. And to extend the argument: What we perceive as beautiful in nature is internalized, becomes a part of ourselves and wants/needs to be expressed. We consequently feel drawn to creation.

And the act of creation, as we all know, is a fluctuating, magical one. We feel inspired to create, based on something that we saw/heard/felt/thought and we want to externalize our inner world for others to enjoy, and for ourselves to gain knowledge and wisdom and to enhance our skills.

Those skills are not merely for the creative process per se — they are tools for life, and they can enhance every minute of our existence; and they can even carry us through times of grief and deep pain; allowing us to push through what we originally might have perceived as impossible to overcome.

The process of making art can be a mixture between expressing ourselves, reflecting on nature and enhancing our way of being in the world, while inspiring others to do the same. Meanwhile, we are nourishing the primordial entwinement to Gaia by feeding our bio-spiritulogical link to her with nutrients of love, appreciation, gratitude, contemplation and stillness.

And this is, for me, what it’s all about: To not only express our inner child’s voice and to process unmet needs, wishes, dreams by painting, making music, dancing, writing, sculpting etc. — but also to express and share our gratitude and appreciation for mother nature’s transcendental beauty and wholeness.

When we paint, we slow down and we contemplate what our relation to the world at large means, while maintaining a sense of

Fascinatingly, for me at least, there is often a sense of urgency coupled to the creative process — and I have to deliberately, consciously slow down (to not burn out). But when I’m in nature the inspirations flow in freely and I slow down with more ease. And that allows me to later paint and create with more ease in mind.

And nature helps us to remind what’s really important in our lives:

Love, family, friends, joy in the process, health, self-fulfillment…

When we want to reach that mountain-peak ahead, we sometimes forget the path. But when we embrace the path, a part of us already dances on the peak, singing jovially and with the knowing that everything is okay and everything will be okay.

Thank you for reading.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you want more stories and philosophical or artistic writings like this, make sure to subscribe to our email-list to stay updated!

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And now — what do you feel most inspired by (creatively or otherwise)? What is your relationship with nature like? And what do you do to nourish that relationship?

Looking forward to your comments!

Much love & many blessings 😊🫶🏼

Your quirky artist-soul,

Michael

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