Behind all art is an element of desire.
Love of life, of existence, love of
another human being, love of
human beings is in some way
behind all art — even the
most angry, even the darkest,
even the most grief-stricken,
and even the most embittered art
has that element somewhere
behind it. Because how could
you be so despairing, so embittered,
if you had not had something
you loved that you lost?

One of the great functions of art
is to help us imagine
what it is like to be not ourselves,
what it is like
to be someone
or something else,
what it is like to live
in another skin, what it is like
to live in another body,
and in that sense to surpass ourselves,
to go out beyond ourselves.

Adrienne Rich

And love of art itself, I would add. Mirica’s desire to capture in pencil, in black and white, all the intricacy and passion of Watt’s painting, of the two lovers’ elicit desire for each other. To render in pencil, oil, sculpture, poetry, music, and even blog posts, the things that move and inspire us, to share with others who might also be moved and inspired.

The circle of creation, of love and desire, repeats itself through the ages, a subject I’ve taken to heart recently. What is love? What is desire? What is the creative act? And what is the creation of art but the recreation of all those elements?