Beauty Versus Despair

I was reading Stanka Kordic’s latest newsletter, and she was asked a very interesting question that every artist probably grapples with on some level, and it would be good to have an answer for.

She was asked, “how do you make beautiful paintings with all of this angst and uncertainty in the world?”

Her answer was, “I use it as fuel.”

My answer to this question:

 “If beauty only existed in the absence of angst and uncertainty, there would be no beauty.”

Beauty is the weapon to fight horror. Beauty is not what is simply left over when angst and uncertainty is stripped away. Beauty is ever-present. Beauty is the antidote to despair. Beauty lives in hope. 

The banner of beauty is what we take upon us as artists. What a privilege that is! You can either look at it as a burden, or a gift. 

I enjoy the ability to take my observations and synthesize them into tokens of my appreciation of the world around me. I hope to remind the viewers that all is not lost as long as the sun still shines and the birds still chirp.

Humans create angst. Humans drive uncertainty. Angst does not exist when I am creating art in nature. I suppose you can say I am using it as an escape. I like to think of it as a way to balance the negative constructs that are mainly human-created with a reminder that Nature is the wellspring that hope and beauty comes from.

Is Art more important than ever? It’s always been important. It’s always been vital. I can only speak to my viewpoint as an artist living in 2025, but I see the shift towards less connection with the natural world overall, but I also see the push back toward the natural as well. There will always be the battle of nature vs technology, and I see myself as being on Team Nature. 

Beauty must be cultivated to balance the angst and despair. How can we as artists help people not forget that beauty exists in spite of the darkness?

I’m curious to know how you would answer the question asked to Stanka.

 "Edgar's Adventure" 8x10 inches. Gouache on paper mounted to board.