Editorial by - Tina Martin-Brown

Conception is the key to art. Why artists create. 
They have a need to COMMUNICATE! -- Bob Lefsetz Music Critic
If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud. -- Emile Zola

To define what an artist is can be a difficult concept simply because all artists are unique individuals and may have a different idea of what it means to truly be an artist. So what determines if an individual can call himself an artist or not? In general the artist defies classification and in a very generic way there are many definitions of the word artist. A craftsman may call himself an artist. A craftsman creates in order to sell that creation. For a craftsman it may be about a demand in the market. But a true artist will continue to create even when there is no market, an artist creates because the fire in the soul much be quenched by self expression. The demand for the artist, comes from within the very heart and soul. Then there is the hobbyist who creates because of the reward of joy that comes from creating, to relieve stress or for recreational purposes. For the artist the process itself may be stressful and frustrating but creating, expressing is a must. The hobbyist creates as a side bar. For the artist art is a lifestyle, and a profession

An Artist instinctively feels the urge to create and to express. Some would say you are not an artist until you sell something you have created or had it published in some public forum. But the craftsman sells his creation and many hobbyist have published works of art. There is an unmistakable spark in artistic personalities, especially with regard to their creative expressions. Some would even say that a true artist is someone who is tormented with the need to create. The true artist has passion for the art of self expression. The true artist will sacrifice, struggle and give full attention to art. Being an artist is a choice one cannot make "in passing" so to speak. Being (or becoming) an artist is a decision that requires a high level of commitment.

More than anything, it's a way of looking at the world. Which brings us to the personality of a true artist. Most artists are said to be loners. People who only connect with the masses through their creative processes. Many artists are individualistic and sometimes anti-social. Artists are very possessive of their work Artists think outside the box and have little patience for those who color in the lines. A vast imagination seeing possibilities everywhere. Artists spend a great deal of time turned inward. Introspection seems to be an integral part of creativity and it seems that the more time spent inside the mind can sometimes cause problems. Some of the greatest artists of all time were plagued with depression and self-doubt. The artistic mind is active, always in motion. A great percentage of artists are single. Living in one’s own world, the artist tend to get lost in it. Precarious by nature, reserved, politically minded, temperamental, spiritual, earthy, indifferent, passionate, disorganized (about some things), perfectionist (about others), anxious, curious, egotistical, uncooperative, sentimental and many other things that don't correspond together but it's what makes an artist; an artist. And at the end of the day an artist is one who can see beauty far and above natural human comprehension. They see the music, hear the colors, feel the world and then express it for others. So…did you say you were an artist?