The quest of becoming a Life Artist
In his poem, “How to Paint Sunlight,” Lawrence Ferlinghetti captures the quest of becoming a Life Artist in that, as I see it, Life Artists are committed to seeing their true colors and creating their lives from a place of greater authenticity and full self-expression from the light, or potential, within their soul.
How to Paint Sunlight
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
I asked a hundred painters and a hundred poets
how to paint sunlight
on the face of life
Their answers were ambiguous and ingenuous
as if they were all guarding trade secrets
Whereas it seems to me
all you have to do
is conceive of the whole world
and all humanity
as a kind of art work
a site-specific art work
an art project of the god of light
the whole earth and all that’s in it
to be painted with light
And the first thing you have to do
is paint out postmodern painting
And the next thing is to paint yourself
in your true colors
in primary colors
as you see them
(without whitewash)
paint yourself as you see yourself
without make-up
without masks
Then paint your favorite people and animals
with your brush loaded with light
And be sure you get the perspective right
and don’t fake it
because one false line leads to another
***
And don’t forget to paint
all those who lived their lives
as bearers of light
Paint their eyes
and the eyes of every animal
***
Paint the light of their eyes
the light of sunlit laughter
the song of eyes
the song of birds in flight
And remember that the light is within
if it is anywhere
and you must paint from the inside
I especially like that last stanza!
Me too Maureen…
[...] Excerpt from Book of Hours, Rilke When I Am Among The Trees, Mary Oliver You Are There, Erica Jong How to Paint Sunlight, Lawrence Ferlinghetti Oh, Please, Oh Please, Come Out to Play, [...]