Fine Art

John Ruskin, a nineteenth-century critic, said, "Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together."

In painting, I believe the the hand is represented by the artist's skill in use of the techniques. The head represents the artist's knowledge of color, composition, representation of form and space, and the use of the various elements of design (line, value, shape, color, and texture).

However, if we stopped there, the work could not be considered fine art until we brought the third aspect of creation into play: the heart.

The heart is symbolic of the content of the work. It goes beyond knowledge and technique. It is the essence of what the artist is trying to communicate to the viewer, it is the voice of the artist.