More Content, Less Fluff

A friend of mine, who is an excellent writer and on top of all things in the artistic world, has advised me to write more about my process rather than mere statements of facts about painting. He's probably right. I could write pages about what I was thinking, what problems arose in a particular design, etc. I will try hard to move into these areas he has suggested, but it's not without a downside. The internet is a large, open, free for all, and I have also been advised to never write anything that you wouldn't want to see on the front page of the New York Times. A balance will be hard to maintain. I don't know how many others will be interested in what was floating around in my head while I was painting...a bit ego oriented, I think. Again another balancing problem. Maybe some feedback on how I'm doing would be good. In the meantime, I reshot some photos of  my work because I wasn't happy with the original ones. The three above are from paintings I did for 10-10-10. I had photos I had taken in Maryland and in Europe to use as my reference. The waiter in white was from Switzerland, I believe.

It's hard to capture photos of people without them knowing you are zoning in on them. Once they realize they are being watched or photographed, their posture changes and a slightly unnatural tenseness seems to overtake them. I have to be sneaky and pretend that I am snapping things behind them or other interests. I love painting people doing ordinary things and being able to translate our human existance into something, well, that is just...more. These paintings are each 12x24 and sold together for 675. plus shipping.

Thoughts About "Beauty and Desecration" Article by Roger Scruton

Wow! I just read a fantastic article written for City Journal by Roger Scruton. I don't know this gentleman, but his article, "Beauty and Desecration:, was absolutely on the nose for me.
In a nutshell, his well written and reasoned article defines beauty and its role in art and progression throughout modern history (Enlightenment to modern day). It isn't often that one finds something that strikes at the very chord of how they feel about a particular topic, but this man has put his very words into my heart. If I could use his article for my "artist's statement" which seems to be a gold standard for galleries to see, I would copy it word for word. Although the article is 7 pages long, he concisely summarizes a HUGE controversial area in the art scene. I suggest you read it. http://www.city-journal.org/ Look for "Beauty and Desecration" by Roger Scruton.
Thanks Roger...

Playing Tag for Blogs and Art

So, I have been tagged. Eden Compton, who does fabulous pastels and oils, sent me her tag. http://edencompton.blogspot.com/ is where you can follow her blog. You must read the rules below and try to follow as best as possible,which as I well know, might be pretty difficult for artists to do. Try anyway... This is a smart and fun way to see some very good blogs and great artwork that one might not have otherwise found.
The rules are as follows:

1. Link to the person who tagged you

2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write five random things about yourself
4. Tag five random people at the end of your post with links
5. Let each person know they have been tagged

Five random things about me are:
1. Everyday while eating lunch, if I am at home, I play chess against the computer. I win only occasionally, but now am at level four,which is still a beginner,but progressing.
2. I have a thing for flowers and was a florist for awhile.
3. I am terribly allergic to lobster and shrimp.
4. One of my favorite books is Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger.
5. Even though my father is from Venezuela and I studied Spanish for 4 years in high school and 2 years in college, I can barely speak a lick of the Spanish language. Perhaps only understanding slightly more.

Since I am new to this whole blogging thing, I only have a few blogs that I follow, although I do check out some websites of artists that I know and want to see their work:
1. Dorothy Fagan can be found at her website: http://www.dorothyfagan.com/ and does wonderful landscapes in both oils and pastels. I recently attended a workshop of hers and met her at the NSA show where she was the featured artist.
2. Wayne Potrafka has an uncanny sense of color and graphic portrayal of things...he carves into styrofoam meat trays and then paints them. He is also owner of Riverview Gallery. http://www.potrafka.myexpose.com/
3. Tom Ryan is not an artist, but he is a writer. He often writes about art, authors, architecture and "things out there". His blog is called Crossroadscurrents and can be found at http://www.crossroadscurrents.blogspot.com/

That's about it...but now that Eden has mentioned some other great blogs, I have new ones to follow and will hopefully learn something along the way.
now, you're it....