Art has always been my gateway to understanding the human experience, an unspoken language that transcends time, geography, and culture. As an artist, I’ve often found myself contemplating its origins. Where did this instinct to create begin?

Why is it that across millennia, humans have been drawn to leaving their mark?

The journey took me back to the earliest known forms of artistic expression—cave paintings. What I found was both humbling and astonishing. These ancient artworks, created tens of thousands of years ago, reveal an unexpected and profound truth: across the world, at nearly the same moment in history, humans, separated by vast oceans and continents—were painting the same things, using the same pigments, and expressing themselves in ways eerily similar to one another.

A shared impulse: the global consistency of cave art

From the Chauvet Cave in France to the rock shelters of Australia, and from the depths of Indonesia to the far west of the Americas, early humans left behind an undeniable connection—impressions of their hands, silhouettes of animals, and symbolic markings. These works weren’t just random occurrences; they were evidence of something deeply ingrained in us as a species.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this phenomenon is the use of pigments. Early humans across the world all seemed to discover the same method: grinding minerals like ochre, charcoal, and clay, mixing them with natural binders, and applying them to stone. The fact that people, without any means of communicating across continents, arrived at the same artistic solutions raises a fundamental question—how is this possible?

The mystery of simultaneous artistic evolution

This realization reshaped the way I view art. It became clear that artistic expression was not a cultural luxury—it was a necessity. The need to create, to document, to leave a trace was embedded in our very being.

The timeline of these cave paintings suggests that art wasn’t invented in one place and then spread; it arose simultaneously in multiple regions. This challenges the notion that artistic expression was merely a social construct. Instead, it appears to be a defining feature of human cognition.

Were these paintings a form of communication? A ritual? A way to make sense of the world? Perhaps all three. The placement of many of these artworks deep inside caves—hidden from daily life—suggests that they held a meaning beyond mere decoration. Whether as spiritual symbols, communal storytelling, or the first steps toward visual language, these early markings remind us that art was always more than an aesthetic pursuit.

Why this matters to me as an artist

In my own journey, art has been a tool for introspection and connection. Knowing that our ancestors, despite their primitive circumstances, felt the same urge to create, fills me with a profound sense of belonging. Their hands pressed against stones mirror my own movements on canvas. Their desire to document their world aligns with my need to translate emotions into form.

This realization has also reshaped how I approach my work. There is something timeless about artistic expression—it is the thread that binds us across generations. When I paint, I am not just engaging in a personal act of creativity; I am participating in a lineage that began tens of thousands of years ago.

The conclusion: art as our oldest and deepest connection

In a world where technology and globalization have reshaped communication, it’s fascinating to think that our most enduring connection is something we discovered long before civilization itself—art!

It was our first attempt at storytelling, at identity, at making sense of existence.

Reflecting on this, I realize that art is the only evidentiary connection we have across time. Long before we had written language or recorded history, we had creativity. And that creativity—spanning thousands of years and countless cultures—is what continues to define us as human.

As I continue to evolve in my own artistic journey, I carry with me the echoes of those first artists. Their handprints on stone remind me that my work is part of something much greater than myself. Whether through pigment on rock or paint on canvas, we are all, in our own way, leaving behind a mark—just as they did.

Art connects us to something beyond the limitations of our physical existence. It is a timeless bridge between past and present, between all humans, irrespective of where they were born, how they live, or what language they speak. The paintings on cave walls, the markings left by early humans, are not merely artifacts of a distant past—they are a testament to the intrinsic, universal impulse that makes us human.

What continues to strike me as I reflect on these ancient works of art is how this impulse, this need to create, remains just as powerful today as it was tens of thousands of years ago. Whether in the form of a handprint on stone or a digital image uploaded to a social media platform, the drive to communicate through creativity endures.

This shared creative impulse is not just an abstract concept—it is woven into the fabric of who we are. It transcends time and space and serves as a reminder that, despite all the advances in technology, the essence of what it means to be human has remained fundamentally unchanged.

As I stand before my own canvas, I am no longer just an individual artist. I am a part of a continuous line that stretches back to those early cave painters, whose creations laid the foundation for all that has come after. Their expressions were not just marks on a wall; they were a declaration of existence, an assertion that "I am here, and I have something to say."

This is the very essence of art—it is our most basic, most profound way of leaving our mark on the world.