Why do people like art?
Why do you like the art you like?
These are questions everyone interested in art has contemplated at one point or another.
As an artist, I’m faced with a similar question – why do people like MY art?
I’ve gotten a lot of interest in my illustration work over the years, and while I appreciated it, I never quite understood why. I’m hardly the only person doing Toronto canvas illustration art prints, so why is it that people love my work in particular? What was it that gave my illustrations more appeal than some of my other work?
After considering this for a while, I came to the conclusion that it’s the simplicity.
For example, take a look at this piece below. I call this “Aggie’s Bike”, because my sister Aggie has always loved this particular piece.
The drawing is fairly rudimentary, and the colours are simple, but through this it manages to get to the base emotion behind the scene.
I think that’s why I love working in black and white as well. Simple art can say as much as more complex work. Sometimes a complex piece can be nice, but simpler art can remind us that the space we give ourselves in life is as important as the things we use to fill our life. This is true with any art, whether it’s music, food, or visual art.
My good friend Chung Gong, a Korean brush painter, taught me to recognize this. His paintings are incredibly simple, sometimes just a few brush strokes, but are filled with so much emotion. I’ve always admired that about his work.
Art like this can have an important lesson for us in life, as well. In the modern world, we try to fill every spare second we can with television, the internet, or checking our phones for the latest update on whatever. But if we can take some time to exhale, calm the hell down, and just appreciate life for a moment, we might be healthier and happier.
Contact Francesco Galle
If you like my work, you can find a lot more of it available on my website. You can purchase it in many different sizes and on many different types of media.
You can also contact me for commissioned work, or if you have any questions about anything.