Inspirations – Sandhill Impression by Bill Lockhart

© Bill Lockhart

Canon EOS 1Ds Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Exposure: ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/20, @ 400mm

Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s. The name of the style is  derived from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), which provoked the critic Louis Leroy to coin the term in a satiric review published in the Parisian newspaper Le Charivari.

So, what is an impression? It is defined as: “the first and immediate effect of an experience or perception upon the mind; sensation.”

As artists, we should be about the idea of conveying to others those experiences and perceptions we see reflected from light. The idea is that our experience may convey emotive feelings and sensations from our world experience. One does not see the world in static form, the world before us is alive and vibrant. As in our science, which tells us that our experiences are too often deceived by what lies before us. It is our perception and intellectual acuity that transforms what we observe into something profound and understandable.

As humans we need the exposure to the surreal to fathom what we are.

Thus, as artists, we should look for ways to find impressions, for such are basic to what we are and are often emotive and inspiring.

Don’t overlook what you might do as an artist, explore the world of motion and light. It is what we are.

In fact, the Cave Paintings show us, that as a species, as we first emerged from the darkness, it was our impressions that mattered. Such were compelling images that formed our ideas about life and experience.

Think of ways to find an impression of an experience that you have. Convey that experience using your artistic mind.

Humans need art to understand what we are. Artists should be about the business of conveying what we are to others. It is all about that critical moment in time which evoked our spirit and memory. ~ Bill Lockhart

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