An Artist’s Eye

Everyone one is beautiful. Every woman, man, or whatever in between is beautiful. I often catch myself staring at strangers, enthralled by every line and curve that comes together to form their being. What some people see as flaws I see as eye catching details. A harsh hooked nose becomes a dramatic silhouette. Heavy set bodies become soft hills and valleys on a page. Strange clothes break down into curves and colored shapes. I have never encountered someone who is not beautiful in my eyes.

When I took my first figure drawing class the model was the most lovely thing I could hope for. Though, if you saw him you would have likely seen a dark skinned gentleman dressed in clothes more akin to a hobo than a model, but I saw different. I saw complex compositions and beautiful lines in every pose he took up. His frame was thin, yet pudgy, around the stomach. There was always something new to focus on when the pose was set. The hollow of a collarbone, the rolls of a back, the bend of an arm all so fluid and solid all at once.

When I became an artist I began seeing the beauty in people that they themselves could not see. Society has narrowed down the image of beauty to only be thin, hairless, busty women, and big, lean, “manly” men. I believe that that is just wrong. Artists have always had a way with finding the beauty in things. Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer is a perfect example where in real life the model could be construed as less than pretty, with a long narrow nose, vaguely masculine face shape, and drowsy looking eyes, Klimt saw what I saw. He saw the beauty in her. The beauty in the pose, the facial expression, the pattern and color that bends and weaves across the page in endless cascading waves, but always brings me back to the subject. I always come back to the beauty in her face that had gone unnoticed until it reached the honest soul of the canvas.

We may not be able to always see the beauty in ourselves, I still pride myself in seeing the beauty in every one around me. I believe everyone is beautiful, no matter what anyone else says.