Have you ever looked down at the shoes on your feet and instead found a tangled, filthy mess?
Old, frayed laces, scuff marks, popped stitches, and more than a couple holes through which you can see your polkadot socks?
Yeah, me too.
So you go to the store and pick out a new, stylish pair of shoes.
They’re nice, they look great, and they don’t smell like a piece of limburger cheese.
You look great, you feel great.
But then tomorrow morning, you slip right back into that well-worn pair of kicks you’ve been wearing every day for the last two or three years.
Why?
You’ve got a brand new shiny pair waiting for you.
You just plopped down your hard-earned money for them too.
As an Italian art prints artist, I have a similar feeling with the brushes I use.
Some artists like to work with a fresh set of brushes as often as possible.
That’s fine – it works for them, and I won’t fault them for it.
But for me, I use the same set brushes for as long as I can.
My current brush set has been with me for many years now.
Many of the pieces you see on my website were created using the same set of brushes.
I like this because it gives my body of work a sense of consistency, continuity.
Each piece came from the same source – my mind and my hand – but it was also created with the same tools.
I sometimes have a tendency to attach a deeper meaning to the objects around me.
But when I achieve a meditative state, that’s when I can create my best work.
And in that state, in my quietest moments, I can feel the memory that an object takes on.
I can feel its history.
I remember what it created, what it experienced, what it has seen.
I don’t mean seen in the sense that the paintbrush has eyes, but that what it has done and where it has been has left an imprint on it.
We can all feel this in certain places.
Go visit an old prison, or one of the Nazi concentration camps, or the site of some other profound event of human suffering, and you’ll get a sense of the deep pain and horror that happened within those walls.
But go visit a spiritual temple of whatever faith, or the wilderness of northern Ontario, and you’ll feel a sense of peace, tranquility.
Our experiences leave an indelible imprint on the world around us.
I get a sense of that while using my old brushes.
Yes they’ve been through a lot.
They’re not perfect like the ones you see on the shelf in a store.
But that’s why I like them.
Contact Francesco Galle
Thanks for taking the time to visit my website.
I have a number of art prints available, which you can find by browsing around.
They’re available in a number of different sizes and shapes, so they’re certain to fit whatever space it is you’re looking for.
You can even get them printed on canvas if you like.
I’m also available for commissioned work, so if you like my style and would like to have a unique piece of art for your space, feel free to reach out.