We live in a world of perfect projects. We are surrounded by smooth and clean surfaces of typical interiors, perfect faces look at us from the photos of billboards, they are flawless, there are equally smooth glossy fruits and vegetables in supermarkets. And we also try to become more perfect. The world demands that from everyone and everything.

And life becomes...boring. As an artist I give it my own definition: an eye can not catch anything. Imagine my surprise when I accidentally found out what happens to a person at a psychological level, when they contemplate. My intuitive knowledge was backed by scientific facts that I want to share with you.

Look at the part of the mural in the picture below and notice the movement of your pupils.

It's chaotic, you look at the pattern in a circle, your eyes move from side to side, as if catching these curls. This is because the pattern is complex and uneven, the brain can't "think through" by itself, because it is unpredictable.

Now look at the following figure.

What was the movement of your eyes? Most likely you looked to the center or, more likely, perceived the pattern immediately and entirely. Hardly anyone of you unconsciously followed your eyes over the course of the spiral (conscious actions are not considered). Why? This is a very simple, smooth, almost perfect ornament, and its perception by your brain takes much less effort, consequently there are significantly less impulses from the brain.

This is a simple illustration of what happens to us when we consider all sorts of things, including works of art. The more complex the ornament, the more intense and chaotic movements of a pupil are, the more pulses transmitted to our brain. And now attention. In the perception of complex elements of art works subcortex of the brain becomes alert and accumulates energy which is later transmitted to cortex. Because of this, our central nervous system receives energy, which is necessary for the sustenance of the body, along with such basic needs as sleep, food, etc. In other words, the brain activity arising from aesthetic experiences from the contemplation of beauty affects our health, emotional state, immune system, etc.

Now back to the beginning of the article. Why I'm against ideals? Why the print created in a computer program, obviously loses out to the image manually created with all its unevenness, flaws and rough edges? Yes, for the same reason. The more your eye catches all those small imperfections, the more impulses are sent to the brain, the stronger the cortex of the brain responsible for aesthetic perception activates and develops, in turn it leads to the above mentioned positive effects on body.

Fell the difference between the two photos below. Which one would you like to look longer at?

Did the ancient artisans know that? Probably they did not know, but they felt it intuitively, just because they lived in an imperfect world. They created beautiful things, which were perfect in their imperfection. I would like to learn it from them.

I think lately people have become tired of the same old boring perfect things. That is why there are boho interiors and clothing, crazy embroideries, asymmetrical designer clothes, in short, everything that breaks correctness. This is great because it helps people to change themselves and their way of life, not to try to match an ideal image, not to be perfectionists.

Returning to the title of the article, which turned out to be not about painting, I would like to appeal to contemporary artists who are engaged in folk art. Don't be afraid to be imperfect, don't be afraid of jagged lines, weird images, do not display flowers perfectly, let your painting be live, fast, energetic, it is more interesting to look at such works. And it's also useful :)

I wish everyone good luck and more interesting things in life!