Sep '25 (edited) • 💬 General discussion
🎨 What is Art, and Why Do We Make It?
People have asked this question for centuries, and every artist will answer it differently. For me, art is more than marks on paper or paint on canvas.
Art is a way of seeing. It slows us down long enough to notice details we usually miss. The curve of a leaf, the shadow across a cheek, the way light changes in a single moment. In the act of drawing or painting, we pay attention. And that attention is a kind of love. And love to me is good, important, joyous, source of life.
Art is also a way of shutting down the noise of the ego-mind. When we draw or paint, for a moment the stream of thoughts, about who we are, what we should be doing, how we are judged, quiets down. In that silence, something opens. We expand beyond time and space. Minutes slip by without us noticing. The past and future fall away, and we find ourselves in pure presence. That’s why even a simple sketch can feel profound, because in that moment, we’ve stepped outside of the ordinary chatter and touched something deeper.
Art is also a way of processing what’s inside us. We carry resistance, judgment, shame, joy, memory, longing. When we make art, some of that inner world moves out of our heads and into form. A line can hold frustration. A sketch can hold curiosity. A painting can hold grief or gratitude. In this way, art is not just what we see, it’s also a way of letting go, of healing.
And art is connection. Between you and your subject. Between you and yourself. Between you and others who witness what you’ve made. I’ve seen children laugh when drawing their parents for fun (ArtGym hack3), and parents moved to tears when they feel truly looked at for the first time. That’s art at its most human.
So why make art? Because it reminds us that we’re alive. Because it helps us carry the weight of life with more ease. Because it trains us to see beauty and meaning even in ordinary things. And because it lets us explore the inner rooms of our human experience, places no one else can enter or regulate. In art, unlike in work or daily obligations, there is no boss, no rulebook, no expectation to meet. We can do whatever we want. If we can let go of the pressures and judgments of the outside world, art becomes one of the truest expressions of freedom we have.
I’d love to hear from you:
đź’ What do you think art is?
đź’ Why do you want to make it?
đź’ What do you hope it brings into your life?
👉 “Don’t feel you need to come up with one perfect answer. Just write whatever comes to mind, even a list of thoughts, quick words, or feelings. The more the better. Art is too big for one definition, and your answers can evolve over time.”
Let’s start a conversation that is as individual as each of us, and see what emerges when we put our answers together.
PS: I also have a MoMA story about how one piece of art spoke directly to me. It pulled me in, and opened my eyes to investigate this form of expression even further. I’ll share that in another post soon.
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🎨 What is Art, and Why Do We Make It?
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