What is Art and Why Do We Make Art

Art is the creative ability and skill to make something tangible from one’s imagination. To make something from nothing is Art. Defining “What is Art” maybe as difficult as defining what is the color white. White comes in many shades but we still call them white. Sometimes we name different shades of white the same way we label different styles of ART. Art comes in many forms, like figurative paintings, abstracts, sculptures, poetry, installations, etc., but we still label them as Art.

Mother and Child, Rick Santiago, 2006
Mother and Child, Rick Santiago – 2006

Art Has Many Meanings, here are a few:

re:  Ibsen said, “There must be a troll in what I write.”  Art, today, encompasses the dream postponed into anything-goes.  Justified in letting the artist descend into mediocrity, spiraling around an ego put upon a pedestal.  As if, all that a person does is art.  And it is.  But I have no time for it.  I agree with Harold Bloom in a recent interview.  He asked, would you want just anyone to do surgery on you?  Of course not.  You want someone to know what they are doing before they cut into you.  Yet today we look at the arts as if everything is the fine craftsmanship of a great artist, and much of it isn’t.  Until you become yourself what benefit can you be to others?  Mediocrity appeals to the mass, and it appeals to the mass ego.  And though it may be art, it is not the exceptional dream, enchanting the child, like a kiss walking home to my knowledge, in an unformulated illustration which wakes me up.  Michael Carrico

*Art is when Vision, Creativity and Talent find each other in the Dark

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Re-Do Emyn Muil

Emyn Muil 4/26 Re-do toned from late last summer, very pleased with results.

Was never that happy with initial results, felt it lacked some definition and color tone was WAY off, but always liked the results of the texturing. I “re-stained” the piece with a thin coat of black and wiped away parts hoping to develop the shadow areas and bring out a little more detail. The “moon” was equally disappointing but redoing this section would mean repainting the entire piece, which to me is a “no can do”.

Close up and Happy Mistakes

After trying to rescue an older piece that was beyond a simple re-do, I cut it down and ripped off some of the canvas, ended up throwing away everything but a small piece of canvas. The inside (back) of the canvas is what you see here, the resulting texture is very pleasing…

Emyn Muil detail of the “Moon”, always interesting how one stumbles across Happy Accidents…
Out of Order 2026 – if interested you can bid on this piece at Maryland Art Place Section A #61 or message me

Some past works trying to satisfy my obsession with LOTR Middle Earth…