An artist is someone engaged in an artistic activity involving making art, practising the arts, or showing an artistic work. The term can also apply to a creative artist, like Picasso, who is recognized for his or her work. The term more often applies to those involved in other artistic activities, like architecture, ceramics, painting, and sculpture. The term is also used in non-artistic fields, such as advertising and design.
Art has been defined by many philosophers, including Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Dickens. According to Aristotle, it is a process of discovering the beauty in things; however, many philosophers believe that a true artist knows what beauty is long before he or she begins to make art. A number of definitions from famous artists have come into existence over the centuries. The most common use in academic and everyday speech, in contrast to Aristotle’s definition, refers to an artist in the visual arts only, hence the term ‘artist’ in visual art and ‘art’ in literature.
In the field of painting, the term artist refers to any person who makes art from a variety of mediums, including natural objects like flowers, water, and rocks, and human-made objects like gears, furniture, and automobiles. A person who makes art has a specific personality. A famous British painter once said, ‘The painters that paint things which are beautiful, make themselves awful to look at’. An example of this is Picasso, who created famous works like ‘The Dressmaker’, ‘The First Time I Saw You’, and ‘umers and Uterus’.
The extent of the ability and talent of an artist is measured by the complexity of his or her paintings, which usually portray the story of some human drama. To become a good artist, the artist must be imaginative, artistic and knowledgeable. He or she must have a clear vision of what he or she wants to portray through his or her artwork, and should be able to visualize it on the canvas.
There are many forms of art. Figurative painting, realistic art, conceptual art, decorative art and sculpture are just some of the many forms. A famous writer once said, “Just as there are many kinds of birds, so there are also many kinds of artists”.
Conceptual painting deals with the mind’s eye, mental pictures and images. It involves the artist’s imaginative thinking, blending of elements like colours, lines and light. This form of painting has become increasingly popular over the past few years, due to the influence of such artists as Pop artist Banksy and British illustrators Andy Warhol. Original paintings are also a form of conceptual painting, as they involve the artist’s original conception and innovation.
