“As soon as your brain starts telling you that you can’t have a tree that is blue then you stop being able to paint trees.” ~ Semir Zeki
When I read this quote in regards to why an artist should never censor true expression, I can’t help but extend this notion to all of us, no matter the “canvas” on which we express ourselves. In other words, if we don’t listen to who we really are, or pay attention to how we see things, we won’t be able to do what we really want to do.
Our brains tell us all sorts of things: Too old. Too soon. Too late. Not enough time. What will people think? I might offend. I am not good enough. Without even knowing it, we create disabilities for ourselves that don’t really exist. We want to paint the tree blue, but don’t think we are allowed, and then find ourselves giving up on painting the tree altogether.
Sometimes, we are, indeed, faced with obstacles outside of self talk, our thoughts, and feelings. At age 36, Sargy Mann was faced with suddenly becoming fully blind after working as a visual artist his whole adult life. I highly recommend reading this article called “Sargy Mann, The Blind Painter of Peckham” and/or watching this brief documentary about how Mann learned to see in a different way so as to continue working as a visual artist even though his eyes no longer worked in the conventional way.
Mann didn’t let who he had become -a blind man – be a disability. In fact, he took what he had become -a blind man- and created new abilities. He says, “Once I had started painting blind, there was no stopping me. It just became the new way of doing it. It was difficult, but art had always been difficult, and having a new set of difficulties was no bad thing.”
To quote another artist speaking from the same vein:
“Everybody has it, but most people never figure it out. You’ve got to be able to see yourself for what you are, and not until then can you be what you want to be.”
~ Bruce Springsteen