Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Monday, May 12, 2008

But Is It Art?


I don't like paintings, but I love pictures! (Overheard recently at the Mayfaire Art Festival in Lakeland)

Outdoor art shows are a great place to hear unedited on-the-fly comments about art. People feel no compunction to reel in their feelings like they would in a museum or gallery. Perhaps they are more at ease in the great American outdoors, nibbling on a giant pretzel, sipping a cold Miller Lite, and perusing art.

Of course, the sun and suds take their toll, and viewers, wanting to impress their friends, suddenly become art experts, and often very loud ones. Artists, for their part, must learn to put up with all kinds of public display, and the art show veterans can easily be spotted. They stand next to their displays, looking slightly bemused, wearing thick coats of Armor All.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Tabula Rasa


Painting should not be a career choice for the faint of heart. Faced with the prospect of paying the bills with art sales, an artist could be forgiven the occasional nagging anxiety; questions that refuse to go away. Where is the market for figurative abstraction? Should I get another part time job? In fact, it's been said that an artist’s success, depends, in part, on the ability to deal with such dilemmas. Acknowledge their presence, but never allow them into the studio.

I know from experience that it is much more than this. There are times when every brush stroke, or every color selection, is proceeded by an interior chorus of nay-sayers, all questioning my ability to make art. I believe I am not alone in this respect, and one definition of both courage and desperation might be ignoring those noisy critics - at least until one more painting gets done.