Hello visitors!
Now that I've taken the plunge and opened this Online Gallery, I felt I should spend a little time to introduce myself and tell you a little about me, and who I am as an artist, and what my art means to me.
To me, Art is expression. Whether it be painting, sketching, poetry, photography, or any of the other ten thousand things into which people pour their creativity and imagination. In the end, its always about expression. Its about being so full of feeling, ideas, and intent that you are driven say it with more than fleeting words or scrawled notes. When you feel that you cannot even begin to share them unless you give voice not just to the feeling itself, but how it feels. With every brush stroke laid, every instinct followed, every mistake adopted. The feeling, the idea, and the voice, can be understood through these acts of expression. Whether its by the creation the piece that gives this voice, or by discovering a piece that resonates with what's inside you, the expression of art is a way to be more deeply seen and heard. Most of my life, I would have had a little chuckle after reading thoughts like those above. Growing up near the picturesque shores of Lake Huron, surrounded by quaint villages and lovely beach-town scenery, beautiful imagery was a rarely noticed backdrop to my life. Art can be pretty, interesting, and technically challenging to be sure; but they are just pictures and paintings. A moments appreciation, and then I would move onto the next part of my day. Any suggestion of deeper meaning outside of the genre-defining classics, I considered either a sales pitch or a touch of self importance. Working in a technical field, with mostly technical hobbies and interests, I had always considered art to be outside my sphere of ability. Looking back, with the ever mounting list of abandoned projects and pile of collectable curios, I suspect I had been searching for an expressive outlet for a long time before I had finally realized. Luckily, I was raised to be unceasingly curious and open to experience. Bob Ross's arrival on my streaming service sparked an interest to try. And try I did. My results were fun though painfully amateurish, and when the initial rush ended, I put the brushes down and added painting to my ever mounting pile of "have tried, may try again" hobbies. And there it may have stayed forever, buried under an endless series of abandoned ventures. 2020 was a year that stopped the majority of people in their tracks. Like many others, events worldwide left me with a full mind and heart, and a desperate need to express it. It was this need to express, be seen, and be understood that inspired me to pick up my brushes again. This time was different. I wasn't trying to reproduce a lovely painting anymore. I was taking what lay inside me and giving it action. Giving it a process. Giving it a voice that could be heard as I needed it to be. Though my skill was developing at a modest pace, the act of expression became as natural as trying to explain myself with words. I found the process incredibly enjoyable and cathartic. And the relief I felt being able to give my feelings a voice that could be better seen and heard was complete. Imagine my surprise the first time I thought of myself as Rob McIntosh the Artist. Huh.
All that said, thank you for visiting my Gallery. I hope you enjoy your visit :) .