We opened the vote in June for the “most inspirational artist” to be chosen as our Artist of the Month for July, and the Renderosity community named Anahata.c, also known as Mark, to carry that banner.He has an incredibly interesting background and was kind enough to share part of it with us.

 He was born in 1949 in Chicago and as a child studied classical piano. Not just the demands of the keyboard, but he was educated in composition, orchestration and the other intricacies of musical art.  That led to many years as a jazz pianist including time spent professionally.

 “I have to say: Every art I've done feeds off of music: it was the pilot-light of my artistic life,” he said.

 Music was not Anahata.c’s only talent. He began art classes at the age of eight in physical painting, drawing and other graphic arts. He also pursued them later in life in more detail.  

 From high school on, he studied literary writing, including time spent with “some wonderful writers.” Indeed.

“I was way privileged to have master classes with Stravinsky, John Cage, Aaron Copland, an hour with Leonard Bernstein, Saul Bellow and others. I considered myself privileged to have met so many talents, including here (at Renderosity). It's a common language, and it's splendid,” he said. “Also, I did academic work in the arts. In grad schools (U of Chicago), I studied the "Interrelation of the Arts," in which I studied patterns shared in all the arts. For instance: Jow "line" is used in a concerto by Mozart, a painting by Picasso, and a sonnet by Shakespeare. We'd compare, find the underlying bonds...Or the connections between an Hungarian folk song and an African mask. Like the Rosetta Stone, the arts are different translations of the same human message: They're a translation of the deepest inscriptions of the soul. It sounds pretentious, I know, but I believe it. We're creating a billion photos of the human soul every day; and to me, that's just divine.

 He’s retired now, but has a full palette of previous jobs.

 “I did graphic art, commercial art, commercial writing, jazz and so on. (I also worked in retail, cleaned toilets, etc.) When I started a graphic arts business – before computers – I did whatever I could to support it. I even once moved graves to a new graveyard! But it bought me paints and brushes, so it was worth it.”

 Mark wanted to share thoughts with the community on several common themes.

 Influence from Strange Places

Influence comes from all over. Playing jazz in dark, smoky clubs taught me 1) how to do your best work when your audience is totally drunk...2) what it means to pour your heart out when it's 3 in the morning and only 5 people are left...and above all 3) the absolute rightness of surrendering yourself to your ensemble, of being at one with others. In other words, communing. Jazz taught me communing. and that it's possible anywhere. You just have to be willing to seek it. Art makes its own time. To all hesitant artists, give into it. Whenever you can.

Computers

I got interested in them as soon as they came out. My first external hard drives were 1GB, humongously big (like a shoebox), and used cables which, today, can eat your desk. But I was thrilled at a new medium, another kind of magic, another pregnant canvas or naked keyboard.

 Also, working digitally meant no turpentine, no rags, no odors or cleanup. I couldn't believe it. But for those who do physical art…Oh, bless your souls! Go where it calls you...you can say "meh" to the computer! To me, transforming a photo in Photoshop is wondrous. It takes hours tweaking, blending, re-tweaking, etc -- a typical manipulation can take up to 8 hours (sometimes more). I started digital art around 2010 (the year) and was sold from then on. So, wherever the medium calls you. That, as a teacher once said, is the road to heaven.

The Camera

Having come from classical, I couldn't get over that a photo is done in one second! But, the REAL work, for most photographers, occurs in the dark room or the digital equivalent, ie, Photoshop, the Gimp and others. Ansel Adams called the photograph "the music on the page." But he called the darkroom "the performance of the piece." In other words, post work is where you turn printed notes into music.

But the other view: getting the shot in the camera is sublime...and the greats just understand how to find it. Watch films of great photographers on YouTube. In a mass of people, they see the shot 'waiting' for them. It just "calls" them...then, in a split second… Whoosh! They get a great shot! They grab it out of the sky. But if someone says, "what's the big deal? It only takes a second! "No! Your whole life comes into it in that second.  So, a second represents a lifetime.

Sharing art with others

As a pianist, I was in the public since childhood (recitals), so posting online – years later – was pretty natural.

 But…

For people who get scared of exposure, the greatest actors and musicians have stagefright! It doesn't go away. In fact, they THRIVE on it. To them, it means they're alive. So, if you feel queazy posting, just know you're not alone. (After posting here, some days, I want to change my name and move to the Yukon. I think: "Did I just post THAT??" But you live with it. Because when you touch another soul, when you introduce a new candle, all that's left is the light. Stagefright melts in the sun.

Technique and Inspiration

Coming from classical, one is naturally obsessed with "technique," but for a reason. Honing skills makes one more able, more limber, more capable of expressing all one wants. It makes us better servants to our souls.

But equally, be willing to leap and fall on your face! Be a fool. A musician once said, "I'm afraid to look foolish!" I said, "then you might be in the wrong field!" Beethoven’s greatest sonata is celebrated for the wildest, most unbridled and crazed fugue ever written. Shakespeare's plays are cut by 1/3 if not more, by the greatest directors. There are passages in the greatest writing that STILL make me say: "What?" You will trip, you will fall...and you'll work for days on one piece, only to realize that it was a mess. If you haven't looked at your work and screamed, "You've GOT to be kidding," then you're lucky. But that's part of the process. It clears the runway for a far more beautiful flight. Advice? Creating is messy: Give into it. Your soul will thank you in time.

Final Words

When I was 10, I passed a ballet studio after my piano lessons. One day, a young ballerina walked out, in tears. I asked if she was ok. She said "pained! I'm so pained! Every limb is in pain! My god..."

"Then why do you do it?" I said.

She turned to me, astonished, and grabbed my shoulders: "Why? Because I LOVE it, that's why! I LOVE it!" (She lit up:) "When you move 'just right', when you fly, when you make your body like the wind, when you soar and make people weep – it's divine! It's all worth it because it's divine..."

Art is from the soul. If you want to create from the heart, be willing to walk through storms. A poetry teacher once told us, "There are poems beneath your feet. Are you willing to dig for them?"

Thank you for giving me this award: greatly appreciated. And thanks to everyone for your great support through my years here. I'm very grateful for it, and for all of you. Many thanks.