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Creating a true and lasting message cannot be easy, whatever the media, because of the depth of emotion required to make an image that truly touches people. At the same time, one can draw reassurance from the fact that people now are much the same as they have always been- however modern our surroundings, the struggle to make our way in life remains the same.

Beauty remains consistent, no matter that the official sexual ideal of desirability may change. The color of the season does not affect the truth of color harmonies and pleasant contrasts, any more than your medium of choice could possibly bar you from making a true and lasting impact. So you can be sure that if something is capable of making a true impact on people now, it will remain so.

Aren't we still fascinated by ancient Mayan art and architecture? As grotesque and stylized as it is, it retains the power to hypnotize- and that power came from the artists passion, the love of beauty, or ceremony, or religious devotion- the passion that inspired the work. Sargent's infamous Madame X, which almost ruined his career in Paris- a masterpiece. Klimt's lovely The Kiss, with it's bodiless bodies and distended hands- again, a masterpiece.

Mastery of your craft- paint, sculpture, literature, whatever it may be- is vital, but what truly makes a lasting message is passion, a depth of emotion that cannot be forged or copied. That is why, so often, we are at our most creative during times of emotional stress. Our emotions have been brought to the surface- by gratitude, stress, visual impact, public catastrophe, drugs, loss, or mental disease, and a true outpouring of our inner self is the result.

And it is a willingness to be vulnerable, to expose your inner self through your artwork, that can make a masterpiece.

Learn more about this author, Kellie Hall.
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