Three by Three

By: Ruelson Bruce F. Lee a.k.a. LE3LOK, 08/28/2017

I would like to share this small art talk to encourage both artists and visual enthusiasts alike.

As a visual artist myself for the past 27 years now, with my personal experiences and learning in the field of arts, I have “three by three” (3/3) indispensable things every artists must possess in his/her arsenal.

You need “I.T.F.” (In-Trust-For? Nah!) in order to produce a weapon called, “I.E.D.” (Improvised Explosive Device? Perhaps, similar) but not really for mass destruction, rather for creative innovation.

No matter how good or knowledgeable you are, every artists needs:

An I-nspiration, before he/she can create a piece of art. Without it, you would just find it difficult where or what to begin with. Look for that one thing, something, and/or someone who could inspire you best to be creative and push you to the limits. In every piece of art, it is just your imagination that would limit you.

Next is T-ime. The cliché, “Time is of the essence” and “Time is gold” are but a few stressing the importance of TIME. Personally, I can easily think creatively even when I am too busy doing other things, but I cannot put it into reality when I do not have the needed TIME to bring it to being. All artists need BIG TIME, more TIME, and even extra TIME to hone his/her craft. TIME to reflect, think, research, experiment, explore, conceptualize and endless learning in order to create and innovate.

Someone had said,

“Three things you cannot recover in life: the word after it’s said, the moment after it’s missed, and the time after it’s wasted and gone.”

So don’t waste your time in the non essentials. Make use of it, and wisely for the good while it is available for you.

I love this phrase which Harvey Mackay wrote,

“Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back.”

In keeping-up with your time, F-ocus is of the importance. I have seen many visual artists like me have failed to finish artworks. Why? Because, they/we lack FOCUS. A true artist is a keen eye, like a camera… a silent observer and recorder of certain time of events. It is obscure to see things clearly when you are out of FOCUS.

It is hard to be out of focus and get distracted. Without FOCUS, you will lose your enthusiasm to continue on and get it done. FOCUS makes you more determined to finish every piece you started and have conceptualized. In other words, an artist needs FOCUS to accomplish his/her work of art.

From these essential things in you (ITF), you can now have a bomb, a weapon at your disposal in order to catapult you into success. That is the, I.E.D.

My I.E.D. stands for, I-dea. From my college years in Fine Arts and after I graduated, I have competed in various national art competitions and felt completed when I made it to the top of winning prestigious award and distinctions. I realized that winning is not really the ultimate goal and losing is but just another brick to my learning in improving more of my skills.

I have learned and observed that what really separates the cream of the crop are those that have the best IDEA, the superb concept that excels from the rest of the bests. That is when, all are equally skilled and gifted with real talent, the best IDEA wins. The reason why, “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!”

Getting the best IDEA is your main weapon.

Another significant armament is E-nthusiasm. With your ITF, you will gain the needed ENTHUSIASM to begin the work until it is completed. Build it with passion… and soon you will realize you have done a milestone.

As Norman Vincent Peale puts it,

“Enthusiasm spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.”

From his motivational book, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience, Steve Maraboli wrote,

“Protect your enthusiasm from the negativity and fear of others. Never decide to do nothing just because you can only do little. Do what you can. You would be surprised at what "little" acts have done for our world.”

Last but never the least, is none other than D-etermination. Nothing beats sheer DETERMINATION! An artist needs DETERMINATION in order to keep going and get things really done. Getting distracted will have no way on you when you got the DETERMINATION to finish it. It is the will to persevere to the end that gets one to finish the race.

To quote,

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” - Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933), 30th President of U.S.

So be inspired, grab the opportune time, and focus on your craft… and then you will have the needed ideato get you on top, the enthusiasmto start with and keep you going, and the determinationto muster all the strength needed to finish the task, well done my friend!

(I delivered excerpts of this in Dumaguete City, at Cool Concepts, Silliman Portal West Building, August 25, 2017 for young visual artists and art enthusiasts)