Emil Purgina

Art Is...a continual struggle 

Art as a calling, as opposed to a hobby, is a struggle. It is a continual search for new ideas, authentic expressions, their evaluation and re-evaluation. Sometimes answers and creative inspiration come easily, but often they take a lifetime to develop. The essence of artistic life is the creation of very personal and unique expressions of reality, separate from those that appear on the surface. 

To use some examples, the art of Michelangelo is beautiful, full of feelings reflecting his own life, his inner struggles, many denials and anxieties. But in the end, each painting represents a victory over himself. Leonardo da Vinci's paintings, such as Madonna of the Rocks (Virgin of the Rocks) or Mona Lisa, feature rocks in their background. These represent the harsh reality of life out of which an artistic vision is constructed. In search for the correct interpretation and expression of ideas, an artist often experiences an intense mixture of pleasure and suffering. 

Art Is...love

Art Is...a gift

Contemporary artists are living through unprecedented scientific and technological progress, resulting in radical changes in lifestyle and environment. These developments are also bringing about changes in artistic expression. Paintings are becoming embodiments of freedom of expression addressing social trends, while a unity of styles is disappearing. 

Apart from a few masters who are creating new, valuable approaches to artistic expression, Emil is concerned that current trends in art devalue modernity to trendiness, and exchange quality for quantity. Art is eternal in the sense that objects of great meaning and beauty will always arise from a fusion of artistic skill and the artist's own struggles for self-expression and stylistic mastery. It is in confronting this challenge that an artist is connected to the eternal quality of his craft.

Artists in general and painters in particular are well known for their love of life. They embrace it fully with all it brings, both positive and negative. For many, this love of life is personified by a woman, an earthly muse. 

For Salvador Dali, this was Gala (Helena Deluvina Diakonoff). She was his muse and wife, a life-long love without whom he could not live or create. She inspired him to paint numerous paintings that are among the most valuable in his collection. Yet their relationship eventually fell into turmoil, with Gala preventing Dali from visiting her. Pablo Picasso also considered women to be his muses. He was involved with several women in his lifetime, and their inspiration contributed to his fame and happiness. His relationships nevertheless typically ended painfully, and sometimes with tragedy. 

An artist's depiction of love is nuanced, embracing both love's great joys and its sorrows. 

Artistic talent is given to a person randomly, and as such is experienced by the artist as a treasured gift. One can learn a creative technique, but not a talent. 

Early stages of painter's artistic development typically involve a degree of realism. Gradually, artists evolve and establish their own style of interpretation, developing or using such styles as Cubism, Surrealism or Abstract Expressionism. Artists can create in any style as long as they respect its philosophical dimensions, and observe its parameters. Some artists paint in one style all their life, while others are not satisfied with a routine and keep searching for new interpretations. In both cases each style of interpretation is accompanied by an inner struggle aimed at mastering a given theme of painting. 

Each painting is a vehicle for a specific message. Once completed, it acquires a life of its own. When people see it, some like it and some don't. Some even ignore it. For the artist who created it, the work remains a gift of expression: something unique that springs forth from the artist's innate abilities and from personal struggles with his craft. 

Art Is...Eternal 

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