Building Blocks

An advanced education is always based on many incremental steps that lead to greater knowledge and appreciation for the subject. This of course also leads to greater accomplishments. I have recently been thinking about the many steps I have taken in my own art education.

When did it begin? Was is the time I first drew a picture, received an art book or visited a museum? Perhaps it was my first art class at preschool. So much of what we discover and learn in life is by our own accord. Like when I was walking home from a father child preschool event and I noted to my dad that there are often more shadows created during the day than at night.

I remember the wooden blocks I inherited from my siblings that were my constant companion as a toddler. With each new creation I explored basic steps of composition, structure, color and design. But the most important lesson I learned from the colored, worn blocks is what is built up, must come down.... with a sweeping crash!

Time to roll

The summer has just begun and it is time to paint. I just completed a great commission and am now rocking to start small, medium and large works immediately.

Bring it on.

Taking it for granted

If there is one certainty in the art world, it's that it is hard, and not forgiving. While history embellishes the lives and careers of dead artists, those of us living today know it is much more of a, "what have you done for me lately," kind of career. Which is good. I don't want to make it on half an effort and I want to be celebrated for my best. Though connections etc will move you forward towards success, it is the persistently hard working, talented artists that come out on top once they're dead. My aspirations are to be that famous dead guy.

How does one reach that career goal of postmortem celebration? By trying to make it over and over and over and over. Talent and luck (of course) also help out the mix. But great exhibitions can be missed, celebrations forgotten and achievements fade. And for each one of these high points, one must be ready for countless disappointments.

I recently applied for a grant which could really give my career some momentum. And I believe that I will win. Yet history shows that there are plenty of "honorable mentions" for each winner, and many of today's winners will never be heard from again. So while I anticipate the glory of today and tomorrow's victories, I keep my eye on the prize. Till death do I paint.

Eternal Artists

I was having a discussion with an artist friend the other day about galleries and artists. For those of you who don't know, I work at a gallery and sell other peoples paintings for a living. My artist friend was saying was how we (artists) want to be represented by the big time galleries. And we do.

But what I was said was, "The galleries are actually second tier to the artists. We are the most important part of the enterprise, because when the galleries that we want to show at go broke, nobody really remembers them, but we the artists remain and our work is what is left intact."

"Anatomy of a Painting"

I came up with the concept for this blog yesterday, while thinking about an idea I have for a future book. I don't generally read many blogs, but know they hold an important place in today's culture and have been a great way for me to keep up with news from friends and family. I don't intend to relate news of my personal life, but to portray the life of an artist from an artist's perspective.

My first book, "X²- One Hundred Paintings and Drawings," (the hardest book title ever to look up online) was first printed about a month ago and since then I have great dreams of becoming a prolific self published author. Not that the books reflect much of my adept writing skills. I tend to leave the pages for my paintings. My second book (coming out late this summer) is titled, "Fifty State Animals," and will be all about the painting series of the same title.

However, what inspired me to write this blog has nothing to do with either of my first two books. The idea is from a third book titled something like, "The Anatomy of a Painting," that tracks the daily changes and transformations of a piece, from its initial inspiration to the final brush stroke. A photograph from each day's work would be in the book for posterity's sake. I certainly don't think this is a novel (nor a haiku) idea, but I do think it would be an interesting study of my process for me, and probably a few others as well.

So, A led to B and as I contemplated the book's details, I realized a blog would be the perfect way to catalogue the process in "real" time. Of course, I haven't begun this experiment yet. I may never. But either way, it has led me to start this blog, and once things get going you never know what might come next.