How to appreciate art (paintings)...?

What is the good way, if not the best way, to appreciate art?
 
I 'd say, "by kneeling in front of it."

You might think, "Well, I understand the fact that each artwork is sacred, in a way, but that sounds too much like the religious devotion and not necessary appropriate for the appreciation of art, or does it???"
 
I agree, and what I mean by "kneeling" has a bit different connotation.
 
It is one of the many ways to examine how artist may have applied the paints to the given ground.
 
We are used to looking at the painting dead on. Certainly, we can do that. It is good to appreciate the size of the painting if it is very large instead of looking at the print reproductions or an image printed in the books. It is also good to try to study the colors of each artwork by examining the actual work.
However, we may not know the true color unless you know what kind of light (lamps) each room of the museum uses. The lights we use, for instance, can be the traditional tungsten light bulbs and/or the florescent ones. In the museums, the situation may be quite different. They know that excessive illumination can cause damages to the artworks, so some museums may not use the ordinary light bulbs. Depending on the quality of the light source, the colors may appear quite differently. You may have an experience comparing several books showing the same artwork with the different colors.
On one reproduction the color on some area may appear more orange-like, for example, and from the other reproduction the same area may appear more reddish. To help seeing the true color, one can bring a color chart, too.
 
The composition can be studied off the printed materials such as any post cards and/or the images reproduced in the books.
Unless one obtain a special permission from the given museum, the close examination of each artwork is not possible. If you are too close to the artwork, it will likely trigger a security alarm.
 

A section from a painting by Bronzino (photo by Hikaru)

One can still learn a great deal from examining the artwork from the distance.
To study how much paints(with or without the emulsion) are applied in which
sections/areas, for example, can be done by kneeling down and looking up at the painting in a certain angle where the painted surface starts to shine by reflecting the light. If the paints are applied thickly, it will certainly reflect the light differently than the areas painted thinly and smoothly. At the same time, one can guess how much emulsion (i.e oil) is added to the paints by examining the reflection of the surface.

The image above is a section from Bronzino's work at Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna which I photographed during the recent visit to the museum.

My new website: Portraits by Hikaru

Well, I've managed to launch a new website of mine exclusively dealing 
with doing the Portrait related painting commissions.

Since I've been doing this type of art commissions, it was necessary to 
create the new site. 
Some of the visitors of my older (but main) site have expressed that 
they were confused about what I do.

...and that's fair enough... because I do many things.

Besides, I have enough works to show in the new website independent 
from my main one.

So, I hope you will enjoy visiting my new site, and perhaps giving me the 
portrait/pet portrait/memorial portrait painting commissions. 

A sample page from the website, "Portraits by Hikaru"

I can immortalize your dear ones!

Please feel free to visit the site! Portrait by Hikaru

Thank you!

Throwback Thursday - Society Magazin article

Happy New Year to you all!
May this year bring you much joy and prosperity!

Today, I'd like to share something from the past as "Throwback Thursday."

Back in 2011,I was featured in the issue 357 of the Society Magazin in Austria. 
The magazine is related to United Nation and embraced by the heads of the government/state, the diplomats, and the powerful members of the high society in Austria and beyond, so I, as an artist in Boulder, Colorado, am very honored to be introduced into such circle of people. 
It briefly mentions about my interest in the life and the works by Leonardo da Vinci.
In fact the index on page 6 introduces the article with the title, "Universalkünstler Hikaru (Universal Artist Hikaru)" !
The magazine is published in two forms, physical and online, so I would love to inform you the direct link to the site. It is from the page 106 to 108.

It is also wonderful to be next to the article about the music festival directed by Ricardo Muti, an accomplished Symphony conductor!

The articles are usually written in German, but they have kindly written about me in English.

Please feel free to visit the site and read the online article!

http://mag3.i-magazine.de/imag/SOCIETY_Magazin_357/#/106 

 Thank you Society Magazin!

オーストリア国の、外交官、有力者、ハイ・ソサエティー　のメンバーの方々の間ではお馴染みの、Ｓｏｃｉｅｔｙ　 Ｍａｇａｚｉｎの３５７号誌に私に関する記事が紹介されております。　オンラインでもご覧頂けるので、もしよろしければ、お読み下さい。　普通は、ドイツ 語主体で書かれておりますが、今回は、態々英語で紹介して頂いております。　

海外に住む日本人として、大変有難いことと思います。

Why I love accepting the art commissions

I love accepting the art (painting and drawing) commissions, for I am able to know the mind of the client 

and realize his/her idea on this material world. ...making ideas (non-thing) of others 
into the tangible reality (thing). 
At a time, I have gladly accepted the "Memorial Portrait" (portraiture) paintings and drawings because I can imbue the artwork with the feeling of "immortality" to the person who had crossed the threshold, and sometimes it brings the healing to the loved ones.
If you have not done this, you are missing out on the wonderful feeling full of satisfaction!

"Remembering Celeste" - a "memorial portrait" painting in acrylic by Hikaru Hirata-Miyakawa

At a time, I sacrifice my "ego," so to speak, for the sake of serving the others' need  

and use my skills (originally given as the gift from the divine) for the good for the 
others. 

Letting go of my ego and letting go of my "style" is the "practice". 

I sometimes prefer these commissioned works to my own creations.
The need of my ego to express myself yields to the needs of the others. 

After all, all the great masters of the Italian Renaissance I admire had served the 
needs of the others, their Patrons.
Although not in the same magnitude, I am able to experience minute aspects of what 

those creators may have gone through... their struggles and the feeling of 
satisfaction...

It is the privilege to be entrusted of such importance - someone's vision. 

The work is manifested out of the tight team work and the deep trust in each other.

Being given such art commission in-itself is an honor.

Mural art commission sample by artist Hikaru in Boulder

Having said that, it does not mean it is always easy and cheerful, and I am not 
talking about the skill required. That's a given!

The difficulty arise when the one who commissions and the one who accepts have the 

different ideas. In order to complete the birthing of artworks, neither party can exercise 

ego-inflation. Neither party can bulldoze the other away. It is the exercise in diplomacy.

The great works of art, the timeless art almost always have served the need of the "other" 

humans (humanity) and/or created for the greater good. 

It is birthed through the struggle of the creator (painter, sculptor, etc) within trying to balance

the need of his/her ego on one hand and the need of the humanity (and beyond - universe) 

on the other. 

Whenever I see the smile out of satisfaction on the clients' and patrons' faces after they see 

the completed works, I feel joy within, and I am also deeply satisfied.

...and that's my job... and I'm just doing my job.  

Happy New Year to you all!

I hope this year, 2013, would bring joy and prosperity to you and your dear ones.

Thank you very much for your warm support throughout 2012.

For me, the year 2012 was a transformational year especially regarding my artistic direction. I have literally gone through the "death and rebirth" process intensely especially

since last June, so I have decided to share my process with you. 

Since the beginning of the year 2012, I was aware of the process of metamorphosis within me.

At the same time, I was realizing that I have reached the top of one mountain, so to speak.

"Dancing Ganesha"

Although I could have keep going the way I was going with many sketched almost ready to be materialized,  I felt the need for the change in the statusquo. This could mean the end of my Mannerist expression, but some how I felt it was necessary to "graduate" being Pontormo of the 20th/21st century and get on with my life. By the way, Pontormo was under the wing of my beloved master, Leonardo da Vinci!  Of course, I had no intention of stopping mycareer as an artist, so I went on the soul quest - the quest for the new expression. Consequently, "Dancing Ganesha" became the last of the Mannerist series. 

First thing I did was to move away from my habitual creative process and began experimenting with the abstract way of expressing myself. It was not a brand new experience, for I have painted abstractly before. I also tried other forms of expression. 

Soon I realized the voice telling me what to do, and it was rather a "rigid",inflexible, dogmatic voice. This voice was not an intuitive one. It was a habitual one. It was telling me what I "should" do instead of what I "could" do. For example, my voice would tell me to strictly stick with the non-recognizable form (even when I see the potential to bring out the familiar forms) since I am doing an abstract painting. To listen to this voice had meant that I had to become less (or least) spontaneous and/or playful in my creative process. Since one of my reasons for going through with this informational journey is to free myself from self inflicting dogma, I allowed the recognizable form to come out. (By saying this, I do not imply that I have not been playful in the past. No, I have been.) 

Within two months, I came to the symbolic threshold. To cross it was like crossing the Rubicon river. Entering the competition sponsored by WPA to do with the QR Code was such crossing to me since one of the agreements the artists had to make in order to participate in this exhibition was to agree to let the artwork being defaced/destroyed. 

for the WPA exhibition

I agreed with it feeling that this would be my symbolic crossing of the threshold. It was interesting to know that my work was accepted right away. The acceptance message came earlier than the designated date! I took this as the big sign of "OK" from the Universe and God.

"Tohu wa Bohu"

Destruction can be followed by creation. 

I went through the "Tohu-wa-Bohu" stage. Then one day, one of my dear friends who saw one of my experimental paintings said something, and it has acted like the "Let there be light (enlightenment)!" call out.

"Ryu-gu Castle"

After that moment, the separation of upper and lower water event happened. 

I knew that the heaven/firmament in Hebrew, Ha-Sh-Mayim, contains the word,Mayim (water/sea). Mary the Mother,  whom I have painted many times with sort of a devotion, has the name meaning "bitter sea" (Maryam).  I recalled the near drowning experience in the sea followed by self rescuing effort. I realized my late-father's name means "illuminating (illumination of) the sea/ocean". I also have worked as a chef at the sushi restaurants...etc., etc., etc. ... all of these events and experiences led to me to the theme: sea/ocean!

It was like putting the dormant and missing pieces of puzzle together, and itoccurred during the Year of Water Dragon and followed by the year 2013 as the year of Water Snake!

I also have heard that there are more people on the moon than the people who had explored the deeper part of the ocean. I felt the need to bring the awareness of the people to the ocean, our mother and her creatures.

"Whale"

In the year 2011, Japan had suffered the disaster - earthquake followed by Tsunami and the failure of nuclear power plant causing the radioactive pollution. 

It is most appropriate for me as Japanese artist to pray for the safety of my people and for the safe journey of the departed souls through my artistic activities. It is as if I am appeasing the Japanese sea god, Wadatsumi.

"Wadatsumi"

I also have added the new dimension (from exclusively 2D creations to more 3D creations)  to my artistic activities using the paper (tree derived) products both new and the recycled. 

These creations will soon be revealed when it is ready. 

The solo exhibition which opened in the beginning part of December is going well. I am hearing many complements so far and am thankful.

I know that my informational journey is continuing, but for now, I am continuing painting with the sea/ocean as the theme, and I KNOW in my heart and soul that I am no the right path.

All the artworks above: © 2012 by Hikaru Hirata-Miyakawa

All rights reserved.

Aoki Gallery hosts "Oblique"Exhibition by IFAA

｛Aoki Gallery hosts "Oblique"Exhibition by IFAA｝


I am very excited to announce that I am involved in the exhibition organized by IFAA (International Fantastic Art Association)!


IFAA, an art association predominantly consisting of Japanese artists, is committed to explore the fantastic and the imaginative. These are very dedicated, talented artists offering their exquisite creations. 


Aoki Gallery in Ginza, Tokyo, has been hosting and supporting the artists with the fantastic, the surreal, and the imaginative expression for quite some time. The Gallery has hosted the Solo exhibition of Dr. Ernst Fuchs, a proponent of Viennese Fantastic Realism, back in 1965.


(Since there are a lot of members in IFAA with the limited space at the gallery, the exhibition is divided in half. The first period is from Jan. 17th through the 22nd, and the second period is from the 24th through the 30th.)




Here are the information:




The New Year Exhibition IFAA "OBLIQUE" 


@ Aoki Gallery - Luft ( http://www.aokigallery.jp/)
Shima Building 3rd Floor
3-5-16 Ginza,
Chuuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061
Japan
TEL. 03-3535-6858


from: Jan. 17th to Jan. 30th, 2011
Open：11:00～19:00
Ｃｌｏｓｅｄ：　Ｊａｎ．　２３ｒｄ


=================
IFAAの皆様、オメデトウございます。
展覧会にみなさんと御一緒出来て光栄です！　素晴らしい展覧会になることをここボールダーから祈らせていただきます。




IFAA/OBLIQUE展


前期：2011年1月17日～1月22日（※22日は17:00迄）
後期：2011年1月24日～1月30日（※24日は13:00開場、30日は12:00～17:00迄）


Open：11:00～19:00 ※1月23日定休日


青木画廊LUFT
〒104-0061 東京都 中央区 銀座3-5-16島田ビル3階 
TEL. 03-3535-6858. FAX, 03-3567-3944


－－－－－－－－－－－－


Ｅｘｈｉｂｉｔｏｒｓ　（出品者）


Ｔｈｅ　Ｆｉｒｓｔ　Ｐｅｒｉｏｄ　【前期】
稲垣恭子/Kyoko Inagaki 
井関 周/Shu Iseki 
大竹茂夫/Shigeo Otake 
大手京子/Kyoko Ote 
加藤大介/Daisuke Kato 
木村紗由香/Sayuka Kimura 
桑原聖美/Satomi Kuwahara 
近藤宗臣/Sawsin Kondo 
坂上アキ子/Akiko Sakagami 
佐々木六介/Roku Sasaki 
セガワ智コ/Tomoko Segawa 
たつき川樹/Itsuki Tatsukikawa 
高松ヨク/Yoku Takamatsu 
田中照三/Teruzo Tanaka 
中川知洋/Tomohiro Nakagawa 
萩原ヤスオ/Yasuo Hagiwara 
馬場京子/Kyoko Baba 
前澤ヨシコ/Yoshiko Maezawa 
三柳智子/Tomoko Miyanagi 
渕岡康子/Yasuko Fuchioka 
レオ澤鬼/Leo Sawaki 
森 妙子/Taeko Mori 
桃田有加里/Yukari Momota 
安本亜佐美/Asami Yasumoto 
山地博子/Hiroko Yamaji 
若林さやか/Sayaka Wakabayashi 


Ｔｈｅ　Ｓｅｃｏｎｄ　Ｐｅｒｉｏｄ　【後期】
相原みゆき/Miyuki Aihara 
浅野勝美/Katsumi Asano 
浅野信二/Shinji Asano 
伊豫田晃一/Koichi Iyoda 
江崎五恵/Itsue Ezaki 
及川晶子/Akiko Oikawa 
大森伸樹/Nobuki Omori 
佳嶋/KaShiMa 
北 和晃/Kazuaki Kita 
木村友美/Tomomi Kimura 
呉宜純/Izu Cre 
古賀 郁/Kaoru Koga 
佐藤恭子/Kyoko Sato 
アンドリュー・ジョーンズ/Andrew Jones 
平 千賀子/Chikako Taira 
高田美苗/Minae Takada 
田中章滋/Shoji Tanaka 
中嶋清八/Seihachi Nakashima 
長島 充/Mitsuru Nagashima 
Toru Nogawa 
白翠皇夜/Kouya Hakusui 
林 千絵/Chie Hayashi 
宮川 光/Hikaru Miyakawa 
百瀬靖子/Yasuko Momose
山村まゆ子/Mayuko Yamamura

Creativity and inspiration: unfilfilled dreams

[Creativity and inspiration: unfilfilled dreams]







Creativity is vital to the act of creation.


When creativity is in concert with inspiration, it works wonder.


Yet, sometimes we can get stuck or feel stuck and uninspired to create from various reasons due largely to the life situations/circumstances.... illness, financial trouble, accidents, family situations...etc.


On the other hand, the great ideas and uplifting inspiration may seem to subside and dry up because the result is not apparent. In other words, sometimes the great projects requiring the help from the various sectors are not being met and fulfilled to continue and complete the projects.


...or the business is not recognized and not taking off as intended (even after the 3 years of the initial trial period). ..or the wonderful creations are not honored nor recognized... and bought...






When such outcome/situation continues, one may begin to feel hopeless and not wanting to continue/carry on.






I have been through that myself.






One day, during the middle 90s, I was watching a program on PBS where Les Brown, an inspirational speaker, was featured. Out of many wonderful message he had given that evening, one spoke to me deeply. It had to do with the growing of the Chinese bamboo tree. He said that it takes 5 years for the Chinese bamboo tree to grow, and yet, it does not break the ground and sprout for the first 5 years. After that, the tree can grow 90 feet tall in 40 so days! He was reminding us that for the first 5 years, we cannot see the result! Had we stop watering and nurturing the ground where the seeds are growing just because we cannot see the sprout/result, the tree would have died!






It is also like the making of a bread. If we keep opening the oven or wherever the bowl is kept, the bread cannot rise.


...or like the pregnancy. It requires time and patience.






It requires trust in your own inner voice.






We can learn from Cain and Abel story.


Cain offered to Elohim what he has created by tilling the soil just as his father, Adam, was told, following the family tradition.


Abel just offered the lamb after tending the lambs, as a shepherd. He used the creative idea instead of hard creative labor of gardening.


As we all know that the offering of Abel was accepted but not of Cain's.






Perhaps Elohim liked the offering of Abel, for it was not altered nor interfered with the act of creation via human elements. One can say that while Cain exercised the microcosmic creative expression of human ego (but not being able to creatively break away from the inherited family tradition), Abel respected the creation and the creature of Elohim as is without using his ego.






As an artist and/or musician, performer, one can experience Abel and Cain...the acceptance and the rejection of the artistic offerings.We can also, in turn, accept or reject the outcome.






Again, it may take years until the people would begin to accept certain art works. As long as we give them the impression that the creation we are offering are not what they want nor what they need, we cannot blame them for not accepting and recognizing. As long as we push our ego outwardly to be in someone's face, we can expect the rejection.






The answer may be in the harmony between Cain and Abel.. the harmony between the "expression of creative self" and the "path of soul."






Once I was told by a Vedic astrology guru that the expression of self is different from the path of soul.


He also told me that most of the time doing art is just doing your job. He pointed to himself by saying that however good he may be, doing astrology alone is not going to make gods happy, for he is just doing his job just as anybody else.






But...


He has added that if one can show the path/way to divine (which is the natural yearning of souls), then the heaven would be very happy.






I fully agree.






All the creative people have been given the gift of power to create.


We must use such power in service to the divine... and to pay forward...

Exercises for cultivating the Imagination

[Exercises for cultivating the Imagination]

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein

What is imagination?

When you open up Wiki, it states that imagination "is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses. Imagination is the work of the mind that helps create fantasy. Imagination helps provide meaning to experience and understanding  to knowledge; it is a fundamental facility through which people make sense of the world,  and it also plays a key role in the learning  process." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagination)

One needs not to be an artist to use imagination. As a matter of fact, we all have the faculty to imagine. When we daydream, we use imagination. The parents can imagine the smile of their children while they are shopping for the birthday gifts. The children are wonderful at imagining the special friends, places, heroes and heroins...
When we read books, especially the theatrical works and dramas, we hear the character "speaking" within our mind. Hamlet may have a certain voice. A little prince may have completely different one from Alice.

In the world of art, during the 20th century, we have encountered many artworks with rich in imagination. Franz Marc had painted the animals with the colors not usually seen in the natural world. Cubists tried to paint the pictures having multiple view points at once. ...so on and so forth.

One of the exercises I have introduced to my students at the Waldorf/Steiner high schools was derived from the special exercises used especially in the lower-middle school level called, the Form Drawing/Formenzeichnen.
One of the basic exercises of the form drawing is to do with the mirror image. One would draw a certain curved "line" on one side of the paper and try to draw the mirror imaged shape of the same "line" on the other side. The form drawing can become very complex, certainly cultivates the imagination of the children.

Nowadays, we can download a image converter software and, with a click, one can flip the image either vertically or horizontally. The exercises I have developed would let our mind use our imagination instead of the software to do the same (eventually).

One can expand this visual imagination exercise to the even more complex one... to imagine what others may be feeling and thinking "without projecting ourselves onto the others". In other words, we have the faculty to objectively observe the reality and also to be in someone's shoe, so to speak. We can shift our view points and see the world with the different eyes and from the different view points.

We know of the great mural of "The Last Supper" of Leonardo da Vinci. One thing is to ponder about the identities and the gender of the disciples, but to me, we would be doing much more service to the humanity when and if we can use our imaginative faculty to imagine what each disciple is seeing in such traumatic environment. What is James' visual field? What is he seeing? What is Judas seeing? ...etc...

What are human beings seeing every moment?
How are the others seeing us?

...something to ponder about...

International Exhibition 2010 Surrealism Now

(SURREALISM NOW)

I am very happy and honored to be included in this wonderful exhibition. My deep appreciation and congratulations to Santiago Ribeiro-san, Bissaya Barreto Foundation, and the fellow artists who are participating in this exhibition!   (Hikaru)

BISSAYA BARRETO FOUNDATION
 Surrealism Now, INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
BISSAYA BARRETO MUSEUM HOUSE
SANT´ANNA CONVENT, COIMBRA, PORTUGAL, EUROPEAN UNION

Open 20th of May, 18:30,  until 30th of June 2010
Idealization and coordination: Santiago Ribeiro

Institutional support: Intervention Brigade

SURREALISM NOW
Bissaya Barreto Foundation
Idealization and coordination: Santiago Ribeiro
Institutional support: Intervention Brigade

Exhibitions, Portugal, 20 May 2010
International Exhibition 2010 Surrealism NOW
The Bissaya Barreto Foundation will open to the public, on 20th May, at 18:30, an International surrealism NOW exhibition
The exhibition will take place in Bissaya Barreto Museum House and Sant´Anna Convent in Coimbra, Portugal, European Union.
Also online exhibition connected.


Participant artists:

Otto Rapp, Oleg Korolev, Daniel Hanequand, Ton Haring, Viktor Safonkin, Peter van Oostzanen, Hikaru Hirata, Patricia van Lubeck, Dean Fleming, Christhopher Klein, Sergey Barkosky, Larkin, Carlos Aguado, Sonja Tines, Gerardo Gomez, Lv Shang, Alessandro Bulgarini, Pedro Diaz Cartes, Elizabeth Pantano, Egill Ebsen,Octavian Florescu, Dan Lydersen, Pavel Surma, Krzysztof Wlodarski (Kali), Shahla Rosa, Sampo Kaikkonen, Miguel Ruibal, Jo Rizo, Ludmila, Lourenço Gonçalves, Sergey Tyukanov, Mehriban Efendi, Carlos Godinho, Victor Lages, Meme, Hector Pineda, Gromyko Semper, Slavko Krunic, Adam Scott Miller, Roland Heyder, Vu Huyen Thuong, Santiago Ribeiro, Keith Wigdor.
more:
Fernando Araujo, Carel Verelgh, Maciej Hoffman, Nadide Gürcüoğlu, Rui Cunha, Francisco Urbano, Mirek Antoniewicz, João Duarte, Nazareno Stanislau, Rudolf Boelee, Madrigal Arcia, Ignacio Casanovas, Dijana Iva Sesartic.

link: http://internationalexhibition2010.weebly.com/int-exh-2010-artists.html



During the Exhibition, slides of paintings will be viewed on LCD screens from artists taking part in online exhibition present in this site:
http://internationalexhibition2010.weebly.com/index.html


Also, during the Exhibition, a list of online participant artists will be shown.

"Fantastic Art Show 2010"

"Fantastic Art Show 2010"
シェア
2010年4月21日10:29
「幻想芸術展　２０１０」
International Fantastic Art Association　
http://ifaa.cc
info@ifaa.cc　　

会期５月1日（土）～５月9日（日）
開廊　11:00～20:00（最終日18:00迄）
※初日18:00よりレセプションパーティー

会場　Galleryやさしい予感
最寄駅　JR目黒駅
〒141-0021　東京都品川区上大崎2-9-25
TEL 03-5913-7635
http://www.yokan.info.
yasashii@yokan.info

===================================================
" Fantastic art show 2010"

May 1 (Sat) - May 9, (Sun).,
open 11: 00-20: 00 (last day, May 9 ~18: 00 )

* May, 1 .18: 00~ reception party

"Gallery Yasashii - Yokan"
nearest station JR Meguro
141-0021, 2-9-25 kamiosaki shinagawa-ku Tokyo ,Japan


===================================================
I am very honored to be included in this show!

Creativity

Creativity


We are used to associating the creative expression with art. Of course, all the great artworks are the fruit of the creative endeavor;however, we must keep in mind that the creativity and the creative process are not exclusive to the activities exercised by the artists. In fact, in many areas beyond the realm of the arts, the creativity is used.


I remember reading an unique art history book when I was in the middle school, where the author had praised the ancient man who had created (invented) the 'first' bowl, for it required the tremendous creativity.
I was enlightened.


Let us imagine the two primitive men. One is holding a burning stick (branch) to ward off the beast, and the other is using the primitive bowl he had made. In both cases, the creativity is used, and in both cases, they have had the realization of some sort. The former has realized that the beasts are afraid of the fire, so he can use the burning stick to scare the beasts although he did not ignite the fire nor made the stick. The latter also had the realization, but it is more complex, for he not only has figured out that the concave object in the shape similar to the hand(s) can scoop the water and retain and even transport the objects, he also has made/invented the bowl through the discovery of the raw materials that can be mixed and used. After awhile, he may discover that the uncured (non-fired) earth/clay would melt, so that he need to fire the earthen ware. This also is the major jump, for he has to associate the firing process (heat) with the permanence of the object (bowl). 


We can see in the above examples that the creativity is playing the major role (whether it was through the accidental discovery or the careful, playful, and thoughtful planning and the execution). 


Also, in both cases, the keen observation of the surrounding environment is crucial. The observation of the environment enables us to collect and store the visual data, and we can sort them out into the ones with the cyclical/rhythmical pattern and the unusual ones.


Although we cannot compare the artworks of Leonardo da Vinci to Michelangelo and determine which artist has used more creativity or not, but we also cannot compare these great artists to the primitive men who have exercised their creativity. While the master artists had the examples of their predecessor as the precedent, the primitive men had either little or no examples to follow (or to be inspired).