Quote:
Originally Posted by mercuryrising  When you are truly present, every moment becomes beautiful. It is the revealing of that inherent beauty in all things that every artist strives for in their work. And whatever life brings you becomes your art. |
It could be argued that there is little correlation between living in the beautiful, present moment and being a great artist, in fact, quite the opposite. Many great artists (including rock musicians like Hendrix and Jim Morrison) resorted to alcohol or drugs because they couldn’t face being in the present moment. It was too painful for them
Artists have often used sufferings of the past as subject material for their work. Picasso painted an incredible, abstract painting of the bombing of the Spanish town, Guernica, by the Nazis in 1936. He was expressing the pain and suffering which he and others had felt at that time. So, no, being happy, happy, happy in the present moment, is not a prerequisite for producing great works of art.