Ken Tregoning

Is it the life of an Artist?

I have read a lifetime’s collection about famous Artists and sculptors some suffer for their art, some just suffer, E.g. Michelangelo toiled through immense projects and things that I would deem to take a life time to complete his works were numbering in the thousands, how he must have suffered for his Art.

In doing so achieved notoriety and greatness though out the land.
Michelangelo, if he were alive today would look back and say, “How did I do it?”,

Then there is the other side of the coin; I refer to those tortured with styles that were against all grains of acceptance and culture of what was acceptable art of their time

Renoir, Toulouse Lautrec, and the mentally anguished Artist who cut off his ear, as the year’s pass I look at others and their works, some I see are truly tortured souls, you can see it in their work or read it in their stories.

How many Vincent’s and such exist that are awaiting to be discovered and recognized, Over my lifetime I have painted and designed as a commercial artist and freelancer works that number in the thousands too, some small some large, I would never consider my work worthy as a Michelangelo’s in my scale it’s meager at best.

I have survived; my life’s challenges too, Divorce, cancer, again Divorce & cancer,

Look at the philosophical phases of the life of any Artist Writer or creative spirit and their lives are criss crossed with emotional event, which either kills their creative drive, or sends them into the realm of putting their feelings on canvas/ paper/ stone or whatever.

In my case at the worst possible time in my life, when nothing and everything was going to the dogs, as it were, I met the most wonderful being who rescued my spirit re-kindled my desire for painting and put the poetry back in my soul, We were brought together despite our intentions to be elsewhere and apart from six days we have never been apart since we met and fell in love.

When you look at my paintings now today you can see the difference a contented soul makes, Don’t cut off your ear, you need both to hear the music of Life’s rhapsody.

Once when I was at my lowest ever, a Nun gave me a little card with the words of Footprints in the sand. Basically the story it goes like this,

I was walking along a beach with God, while amongst the clouds, stages of my life played as a Giant screen movie, I saw the best and the worst of my life, I looked away when one of the scenes was to painful to watch and only saw one set of footprints behind me, I said to God, God how come when I was at my lowest times and praying at my hardest for you to help me, I see by the footprints that you have deserted me;

“No my son he said to me that is when, . . . I carried you!”.

We are all mortal and suffer at times, we need a cuddle and a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to listen to our story, He is always there for me, he has carried me often and helped me a lifetimes worth, so don’t be a stranger to him he knows you better he is a true Artist after all look at all his creations. Ken Tregoning