The quote, “The artist see’s what other people only catch a glimpse of”; not sure who said this, no credit was given for the quote. But can you relate to this? A lot of times the artist see’s things in his/her own artwork other people don’t see even when they are looking at it. That’s the problem … while they are LOOKING!

I would be willing to bet most of you who consider yourselves artists notice the smallest of detail just about everywhere. Everywhere is a generalization, but is it true? You would notice a beautiful leaf on the ground that everyone else was walking over and stepping on. You would see the beauty of dew gathered on a perfectly formed spider web.

We talk about “seeing” frequently, but sometimes seeing does not mean visual. On many occasion great vision comes in the mind and not the eyes at all. In fact when you work abstract or surreal work all of it comes to the mind, not the eyes. I guess that is the difference between those artists, and still life or landscape artists. Not that this is bad, just different.

Some people would rather see a conservative landscape, still life, or portrait than a piece that does not blatantly make a statement. This goes for visual and musical, sometimes also theater and poetry or writing. Every person has their preferences, but these preferences can change for different reasons. For instance five years ago you may have loved lemon pie, but now you don’t like lemon pie so much. No reason, it just happens.

As you make your travels in everyday life, take time to catch that glimpse of something obscure, small, hidden and beautiful. True treasures can be found in the most unlikely places.