In the Eye of the Beholder

All that Glitters oil 22 x 28

Painting is subjective.  There are basic concepts that make a piece a good painting. Concepts like composition, color, balance, and rhythm, and drawing.  But after that, the definition becomes blurred.  Perhaps you prefer very detailed renderings of fruit.  Or painterly interiors. Or works that recall the past. Maybe you like the color blue.

What makes a painting "worthy" or "good" has been weighing on my mind lately.  Sometimes I feel like there is a very narrow definition. And the tastes of the general public or the magazine editors are not always a good barometer. Sometimes I imagine Cezanne or Matisse standing before a room of contemporary paintings.  Which would they think were the best?

Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

Across the Divide oil 36 x 30

Artists are supposed to be the ones with imagination.  A good part of our job description is to get people to use theirs.

--Robert Genn

If I could write a job description for the art profession, it would probably include something about making the ordinary extraordinary.  The best artists make the viewer use their senses in a new way.  They take the everyday and make it special.  They make the viewer notice the small things. They paint not objects, but subjects. They cause you to pause for a moment during a busy day. They tell stories.  They allow their viewers tell their own stories. They use skills that, in themselves, are quite ordinary to produce a kind of magic that can be awe-inspiring, thought-provoking, uncomfortable, noble, ambitious, curious, and commanding.

Our job is to expand upon the world--to make some kind of order out of chaos. A skill that is rather extraordinary.

Momentum

Evening's Shadow oil 14 x 11

Summers are a busy time for me.  One show is stacked on top of another, my galleries are selling work, the crowds are bustling in the resort towns near where I live.  Much of what I had to do happened in July.  I have finished painting for my Solo Show (more to come in my next post).  I have wrapped up my wet paint event in Crested Butte. August does have some teaching responsibilities, but for the most part, marks a winding down period for me.

Many artists experience the "post-show doldrums."  A lot of energy has gone into producing a show and it can be a time to reassess one's goals and sometimes the what-next can stop your momentum. So, I have learned over the years that it is important for me to line up specific projects for myself after a period of intense creation.  Otherwise, I lose focus and my production wanes.

A few ideas:

• Sign up for a plein air event.
• Line up some commission work. A specific assignment and deadline keeps you from aimlessly trying to paint.
• Visit a place that inspires you.
• Go to the nearest art museum. Study the artists you admire.

Maintaining some kind of schedule helps me immensely. Sometimes I have to do a few bad paintings to get back into the swing of things, but I do find that I can get back to my normal routine fairly quickly if I follow some of the ideas listed above.

Crested Butte Plein Air



In the Thick of It oil 16 x 12

I am just settling back in the studio after a week in Crested Butte for their plein air event. I had a great time painting--we did have some challenging weather to work around.  I spent the first night huddled in my tent listening to the rain and woke to a substantial amount of fog.  Hard to paint when you can't see anything other than what is at your feet!!!

I finally took shelter in a stand of aspen trees and waited out the rain.

Aspen Enclosure SOLD





When the weather cleared, I was in full production mode and I managed to get some good painting time in.  What I really love about these events is being around other painters and the chance to look at how everyone interprets the landscape in their own way.  There was some really beautiful work and I have returned a bit tired, but definitely inspired. A select amount of paintings from the event are still for sale at the Oh-Be-Joyful Gallery through this week.




Above the Valley SOLD



Turning Towards the Sun oil 14 x 11

 

Preparing for a Plein Air Event


In a few days, I am headed off to Crested Butte for the Plein Air Invitational. I participate in these kind of events once a summer and after three years of painting in Estes Park, I am excited to be painting in a new location.  Crested Butte is one of the most spectacular settings in Colorado. I made a preliminary trip a few weeks ago to paint for a few days before my return this week to complete the required days.

There is a lot of packing to do including framing supplies and a tote for wet paintings and a tent and sleeping bag. I always make sure that I have new crisp brushes with me and clean turpentine.  I try to pack light as I love hiking in to the more remote spots.

This time of year the wildflowers are in full bloom and the snow has yet to fully melt from the moutain tops.  I'm looking forward to painting with a great group of artists.  I'll update you with more details upon my return!

On Borrowing and Stealing

Under the Canopy oil 12 x 16

There is little or nothing new in the world. What matters is the new and different position in which an artist finds herself seeing and considering the things of so-called nature and the works that have preceded and interested her. — Giorgio Morandi

I think it is important to be looking at art--all the time.  Look at art from the past and look at contemporary art and figure out what it is that attracts you to a certain piece.  Is it color, or technique?  Is it subject or design? Would you hang it on your walls? What can you borrow from the work? Be a sponge and soak in what the artist does well. If you are a collector, you will probably notice that certain styles appeal to you time and again.

Throughout the history of art, there are countless examples of how one artistic movement borrows from another. What is important is how those influences are extracted and molded to what satisfied the artists that followed.  If you have influences (and you should), ask yourself how you can make those ideas your own. How can you put a new twist on an old idea? How can you learn from the past and explore some of your own thoughts at the same time?

Artist Friendships

Backyard Aspens oil 14 x 18



 Artists are solitary by nature.  We live inside our heads.  We communicate through paint or clay or charcoal.

Friendships with other artists come naturally.  We seek out people who understand what drives us.  We vent about the work and about what inspires us.  We spur eachother on. We root for eachother's successes. We know the exact blue that would make a painting work. We share information about supplies. We gather to paint together.

Matisse had Picasso.  Van Gogh had Gaugin.  Do you have an artful friend who spurs your creativity?

Creative Chaos

Calder's studio Photo courtesy of Herbert Matter

I recently bought a book as a gift for my mother about living artfully with clutter and it spurred a conversation about our studio spaces. Some amazing work comes from cluttered studios (see Calder's studio above).

I grew up in a house where the dining room table served as a workspace for my mother's projects.  She was a crafts person then, making 3-dimensional quilts and soft sculpture.  Her actual work room was filled from top to bottom with scraps of fabric, beads, zippers, you name it.  I went to sleep every night listening to the hum of her sewing machine (accessed by climbing over the piles of stuff).  She now has two levels of workspace filled with house paint and various furniture projects.

I work in a spare bedroom at home. If I am in the middle of a lot of work (as I am now), my studio is stacked with paintings and reference material and frames and boxes.  It is slightly neater than my mother's workroom (the mess is regulated to the outer reaches of the room). I do a thorough cleaning about once a year. Rest assured, the remainder of the house is neat and clean!

I am envious of those who have ample space and no clutter to work in. Those glossy pictures in the monthly magazines that show pristine and organized spaces(certainly scrubbed for the camera crew) make me yearn for a place to relax in my studio without having to move something out of the way.

Do you do your best work surrounded by chaos?

My mother's studio circa 1980

Artist Stereotypes

A Bright Spot oil 12 x 9

It always makes me laugh when the artist stereotype comes up in conversation.  Broad catagories like artists are unkempt and drink too much.  Artists can't manage their time or artists are irresponsible and lazy.  Artists don't (or can't) make a decent living. Artists are eccentric or mentally off-balance.  Artists dress in black and wear berets.

I know many artists who are grown-up, responsible, deadline-adhering, hard-working, well-dressed and regularly-bathed members of society. In fact, most of them are.