my opinion of what art is

An artist is one who can take an idea or an emotion and make it real by creating a picture of it.  This picture does not have to be in chalk, oil, watercolor, wood, canvas, words,  or any other medium.  It can be any of those and more.  The ability to take that concept and make something out of it that will carry on throughout the ages, is to me the epitome of artistry.  Think back to the last time you saw a photo, or poem, or painting that stirred in you such emotion that it made you cry.  Then try to think of that moment in your life when you last experienced that emotion.  That is what art is...when I write poetry, I try to think of how I would describe the color blue to a blind man...and then I write it.  If you can associate other senses to describe something that is completely intangible and untouchable then you have succeeded in creating art.  Wait you say?  Aren't paintings tangible?  Why yes they are, but the emotion or feeling you get from looking at it is not.  I could say the same thing about music or poetry...they too are tangible but the emotions or feelings one gets from reading them or listening to them are not tangible...you cannot touch happiness or sadness or loneliness....those are feelings that we have all endured at one time or another in our lives so we know what they are and what they feel like...yet each time an artist creates art, we stroke those emotions as surely as if we had physically touched you.  I am not going to say that all art is good art, but anything created from the heart should be respected as a work of art.  I urge each and every person to read this blog, to go out and create art...take a color and describe it as if you were teaching a blind man what that color is....capture an emotion in a photo....write a poem...write a story...paint a picture....draw an emotion...do something artistic in your life and you will reap the rewards of having touched a soul.