A Conflicted Soul

It just hit me on my way to work how artists in the past have so much angst and despair that their very lives are sucked out of them. My question is, without the melancholy and longing, would Vincent van Gogh have drawn masterpieces? If he had gone into therapy, would he have produced "The Sunflower"? It's so orange and vivid. To me, it's almost.. angry. I suppose that's what passion is all about. And Edgar Allen Poe.. if he had not been so miserable in life, would he have written the dark stories that he has? And Curt Kobain, Micheal Hutchence.. artistes in their own rights; they harbour such great pain yet they are able to produce beatiful music to heal others' souls.

I a myself trying a hand at the simple technique of collage painting. Not mind-blowing self-portaits or anything that even remotely resembles a sunflower. A colleague who saw my 'scribblings' remarked that I may have a potential in textile design. Hey, how about that! But I have made a personal choice to be a happy artist. I watched Parkinsons sometime last year when he interviewed Goldie Hawn on her dream. And she had said "... to be happy". It is amusing, yet it contains such a simple truth. And that's not such a bad aim to shoot at, is it?