Saturday, April 01, 2006

The Importance of Being Well Rounded

In the last couple days, I have come to realize that I've gotten a bit burned out from using all my spare time to read books about animation, or about Maya or Mel... Having said this, I should say that I am definitely not burned out about animation. It's just that... well... it's a bit too much.

A couple of days ago I woke up to a really pleasant surprise. 2 very close friends (they both live in other countries) were online and the 3 of us chatted for a good couple hours. Mainly catching up, wondering how our lives were going. The point of this is that, besides greatly enjoying our conversations, they really opened my eyes to a lot of things. Each in their own unique way, since one is an illustrator and the other one is a photographer. And both thumpin good I shall add!!

I started my post grad with them and I got exposed to a lot of new and fascinating things while I enjoyed their company. Mainly the wonders of illustration, the true depthness of fine art and the incredible subtleties of being able to discuss a book thouroughly. All of these with nothing more than maybe a good glass of wine or a strong cup of coffee. Many, many wonderful memories from those few months we shared.

That conversation got me thinking. "...I haven't read a good book in a while..., ...I haven't found a new graphic novel in a while..., ...I haven't painted in a while..." So of course, something clicked. I need a brake. I need to really take advantage of my scarce free time. So for the last couple days I have been reading, catching up on some movies. I still have to pick up the brushes and pencils. But I have time.. So it's all good.

The real importance of all this is that, not only do I do it because it brings me personal satisfaction, but because I truly think that all these different disciplines of art bring new perspectives to my work and to my way of seeing things. These are the tools that really round you up. They really make you a better artist. The exposure, the thought process, the variety.

It feels great to pick up all these wonderful books. I shall list some I have read & some I want to read. But right now, I'm off to the movies :P!

mau.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I agree with you, but only to a certain extent my friend.

Un saludo.

Mau said...

Jajajaja

Of course.

mau.