William Blake

Portrait:William Blake by Thomas Phillips

William Blake was a poet, an artist, and a printmaker. This we know for sure. It has been documented in history. He completed an engraving apprenticeship studying at the royal academy. He studied painting and printmaking. Above all, he was a visionary. In my opinion, he was a supreme imaginary. I feel that after contemplating all he learned, he chose to express himself in ways not thought of during his time. For this simple reason he was dismissed as a madman. Not to mention the fact that he would see angels and prophets as well as his brother’s soul floating in the air!



Portrait: Pity, 1795 by William Blake

William Blake was one of the first people in my mind to try to present an ageless perspective on traditional thinking. And we all know how people want nothing to do with what they don’t understand. He wanted to share with us what he saw in his mind. We can all relate to this man in one way or another. We seldom chose to share with others what we truly believe or imagine. What we fail to see is the fact that our imagination is what ultimately has created our existence. We first imagined the world we now live in. We have created all that is good as well as all that is bad.
Labeling William Blake as an illustrator does him no justice. Calling him a fine artist gives him not enough credit. Why must we categorize this man? Why must we always have a label? He was, I am, and you are. Let us be fine with just that.