by G E Barr

Created on: January 06, 2009

LONG TERM EFFECTS: A WAY OF SEEING AND CONNECTING

Our dog, a weimerreiner, lopes elegantly toward me. I see the sinewy muscles in her upper legs and her perfectly formed knee joints. Her long, slender ankle and feet portion curls as she moves. She is built streamline. Though her head is large and her ears floppy. She is a mixture of elegance and imbalance. As she moves freely in the yard, she reminds me of a Morgan horse or perhaps an Arabian. When she is in the apartment with me, she is like a dolphin which ascends from the depths to say hello with utterances and she pushes at me with her long slender nose.

Her coat is red and short, like horse hide. Her real name is Patriot, though I have a nickname for her.

When she is wanting attention, she will come and sit before me, tilting her head and then nudging my arm with her long nose. If I ignore her, she will nibble on my leg or arm.

In an abstract world which many times requires black and white, Patriot is a red character sans American anti-culture. So that I shift from the convenience of snap gestalt judgements to consider her emotion, her reactions and body language. The moment of her essence, who she is, I respond to. The fact that she was abused as a pup and spent time in the dog shelter is not considered. I do not see the tragedy, though I know of it.

Were I to paint Patriot, I would not just paint the dog, I would capture her character. I would see it in the painting, or I would not be satisfied. Someone else, who does not know Patriot, would see a dog, so that the importance of her character in the painting is important to me. But not those who analyze the painting. Those who analyze the painting would consider anatomy, color and perhaps strokes. They might perceive personality in the subject, but it will be a vaguely, objective whisper of what is "dog".

When I freely experiment with painting, or indulge in abstract, I usually feel a release of emotional stress and appreciate the beauty or symbolisms gradually. Someone else will be immediately effected by the whole of it, either being repulsed from it or drawn to it. Embracing the whole immediately or fearing it, or what it might mean. Tracing familiar lines with long gazes, searching for that which makes sense to perception or emotion.

The effects of art on perception and emotion is both broadening and at times, soothing.

On my livingroom wall hangs a painting which I did after reading a novel called "She". In the novel, the writer explored his fear of women and it was very humorous. I was so awed by the novel because it was written in the 1800's. The painting of which I write, I call, She Running. It is softly abstract in muted colors and it always attracts attention. The painting is symbolic of the conquering of fear, not misogyny.

My youngest son loves the painting and for a while it hung in his room. Though he was immediately drawn to the painting the first time he saw it, when I explained the painting to him, he loved it even more.

In conclusion, the effects of art on my son's perception and emotion, has been an understanding that things are not always as they appear and self acceptance promotes growth.

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