Dialogue & Art

   
Discovering yourself through art.......

   Recently while painting some "abstract explorations" I heard an enormous amount of internal dialogue going on that I hadn't heard before.........some of this will sound a bit.....crazy, and I don't take it to seriously myself.

    This isn't some poltergeist sort of thing occurring and my mind wasn't taken over by aliens nor was I using mind altering substances.....though, that might be of help in my explorations into the abstract realms of painting. When in the creative sphere whether writing, doing visual art or designing homes I always have a sort of positive inner guide, the quite voice that helps me to make decisions, what colors and content is best, etc., but the very small voice in the back of this voice is what I heard while doing the abstracts. It is not the voice of the muse, nor the reflections of academia or anything that I can recall being fed into my brain, though of course somewhere along the path of life I may have encountered it and completely forgotten the makings of it.

    Most of the time  I do figurative or semi-figurative work, take a lot of time to do them, exercise a
great amount of detail and am unable to leave white space. The abstract explorations are quite unlike the previously mentioned, taking little time, very loose, little detail and a lot of white space. I'm forcing myself to go outside my comfort zone, to broaden my artistic horizons mostly because I've been experiencing an "artist block" for some time now and desperately wanted a breakthrough of some sort.

   For some reason, while doing these abstract explorations the little voice in back of the little voice is telling me, "what I'm doing is wrong, inconsequential, I should take more time to complete them, there is no detail and this makes the work worthless, why am I leaving so much white space and why am I not doing more conceptual work that would mean something, and on it goes". Good grief!!!! I'm curious to know if other artist have experienced these sorts of inner commentary.

   What's funny about all of this to me is the contrast of having an enormous amount of fun and freedom while hearing a very derogatory and critical inner voice....the voice behind the inner voice. My general day to day inner dialogue is quite positive and I enjoy life a great deal, yet here is this mini voice ranting and raving negative about something I'm having fun doing. Maybe some art psychoanalyst could explain all this to me and tell me what I already know such as, I'm simply crazy and maybe I should do some art therapy. Anyway, I would love to hear from other artist artist on this topic.

Explorations & Meanings

This article is on the absurd musings of a self absorbed artist (me momentarily) in search of the unknown, a sort of holy grail quest, though certainly not as profound as finally finding the philosophers sword......or was that the philosophers stone.........  Maybe some of you have gone through the following process of thought.

Starting a new series of art work is always a challenge, the contrasting elements of academia, intuition, preconceptions and a willingness to explore the hidden realms are often overwhelming for me. In this case I'm leaving years of figurative drawing & painting in the wind and proceeding with the amorphous and ambiguous nature of abstraction. I find abstract work to be much more difficult and am trying to find a way to define my concept in a set of constructs that will communicate something of value to the viewer. When dealing with figurative art there is always the associative thread of physical reality the viewer can correspond with, and even if the work is of little conceptual value there is still something easily associated with. When dealing in the abstract realms it is like trying to explain what another planet looks and feels like without the viewer having ever been there or having seen it.

A better question to ask in all of this is, "does it matter if abstract art means anything other than a pure & true expression of the artist?" If one paints from their heart & soul is that not enough, does everything need a justifiable and intellectual reason for creation as though to substantiate the artist virility, intelligence or purpose, or the viewers reason to look at the art? Is decorative art shallow and lacking in substance? Maybe all art is simply decorative and as artist we create stories about our art to satisfy academia, intellectuals and the audience hungry for a story of interest and entertainment value. I know this isn't really true, but I do ponder what the value all of that academia training tries to inundate us with.

A few of my main premises in all that I create are:
1) Will the viewer be elevated in some way?
2) Will it allow the viewer to dream and explore new emotional or intellectual territory?
3) Does it inform the viewer in some way?
4) Am I communicating what I intended through the medium of art?
5) And lots of other questions........
I should say that these questions arise only when completely lucid, not in the act of creating.......

The main question on my mind about creating this abstract series is, can I start without a concept and work towards one? When starting with a concept, a vision, a reason to proceed and of course passion, there is still an exploration of the infinite within any given subject matter which can take years to explore and define in way that will ultimately convey what I had in mind. If I start with no concept it seems improbable that as an artist anything of value might be produced other than a possible hit and miss sort of progression.

I have so many questions about what I'm exploring right now that it seems the only thing I can do is to move forward and create work or sit still and think about it, neither of which may be of much worthy fruition. After years of working in the figurative realm I am somewhat fearful of venturing into a realm of art that may simply end up a mess, or of course I might surprise myself and end up with a series of work that has some aesthetic and conceptual value......who knows? By the way, I have also ended up with a mess even in creating figurative art, but not too often.

Well, my friends I'm on a quest to search for my own truth, one that will honestly communicate without the interference of academia, mental projections of perceived audience, fearless planting of paint on canvas and paper to hopefully express my given potential, whatever that may be...........

Book of Poetry & Art

 

If you like to read poetry, I just self published this book of poetry with a few art works from the "Nature Series". With over thirty years of writing short stories and poetry I thought it might be interesting to present some of it in conjunction with my art, testing the waters of what it not only takes to create a book, but also to get some feedback on my writing. I don't think of myself as a word smith as might a seasoned writer, but I do enjoy painting my thoughts with words.

http://www.blurb.com/books/4001033-moments-without-time

Click on the link above and it will take you to the preview of the book. I would appreciate any commentary you may have to offer about the book.

When There is Space

Have you ever experienced a lull in your work when you simply cannot produce art?

For the last few months I’ve been experiencing what one of my friends call, “ a gestation period” which translates into, I am creating a new baby and I'll just have to wait and see what comes out. “I seem to have lost my muse”, or, “I am experiencing a dry spell” is the most common terminology for this situation of non production. I sometimes think that when this happens to me I have lost my muse, my creative “mojo”, and won’t ever be able to create another work of art. Such mental constructs are for the most part just that, the ego trying to get the best of the creative experience by not allowing the creative energy to flow that is always present and exist in almost any situation.

                                                                                                                                               
Another way to look at this is, the times when I’m not painting or drawing may possibly be some of the most creative periods because this leads me to the next series of physical manifestations that usually surpass anything I’ve created before. I am generally quite driven to always be producing work, whether painting, drawing, writing, or playing music, and I start getting worried when I seem distracted, unable to focus and create. The sense of anxiousness is probably the biggest stumbling block for the creative process. I don’t really know why there are lulls in creativity, but I do know that I generally feel quite uncomfortable during these times, especially because I hear that little voice in the back of my head telling me that I must pick up my brushes now, this minute, or something such as, I’ll be excommunicated from the realm of creativity……….I know…..that’s nuts.

All this seems a bit crazy & neurotic to me, especially as I write this on paper, the notion that I must create or else I am not worthy, or doing what I’m supposed to be doing, or I won’t be able to do it anymore if I wait to long, or my creative juices are all dried up, or the million other insane notions that occupy this grey matter. The truth is that no matter how long or short the time span is between the creative work you make, there is no set formulas, nothing lost, and it may just be the best thing that happened to you, leading to possibly some of your best work. Often I will try to force myself to create, and I find this usually leads to disaster, though it can possibly be a start to engaging the creative process again. I don’t really have any immediate solutions for this period of time I’m experiencing, and we all have a different sort of experience when in the “Lull”. So getting out of it is for me, letting go of all my preconceptions about what should be, and allowing what is to place, and simply waiting.......easy to  say, another to actually do it.

Of course if you are on a deadline to create, having a dry spell is quite another issue from when you have plenty of time to work this out. What to do to get the motors of the muse moving? Relax! This is pretty hard to do under the duress of a deadline, but to relax, go do something completely different in a new environment, or meditate, or just pass by your paints and say hello to them and let it go. Yep, it all sounds easy until you are experiencing the valley of dry desert non-creative winds. But believe me, this to shall pass (kind of cliché here) and you will once again feel the sweet waters of your sub conscious muse as the flood gates of creativity flow once again.

www.rossotoart.com 

 http://chisholmgallery.com/william-rossoto

Art Reps & Art

Amazing how much time has elapsed since my last post. A lot of transition, introspection, and new opportunities have taken place in recent months. Essentially reinventing my marketing approach, art work, and having a more flexible attitude about possible art venues has helped to create new prospects for expanding in the art world.

I have been in search of representation for my art work for quite some time, hoping to find a person who is genuinely interested in me as a person, who had a fondness for my art, not just the business side of art representation, and could produce results. I researched the online art reps, and gallery owners I had worked with thinking that this might be the most direct route to meeting my goal. The majority of online art reps left left me wondering what they actually do to market the art they have, and if I would even get noticed, as there was an unusually large number of artist being carried under their art roof. I'm sure that some artist do well with these online reps, but for me it seemed impersonal and a cookie cutter way to present my art. Most of the galleries I had worked with were great on putting together show openings, but follow up, advertising, and having the right audience for my work was yet to be found, so I chose not to look for my art rep through a gallery (at least for the time being).

Fortunately an unusual suspect arrived that is trustworthy, reliable, and has true admiration for me and my artwork. Over the last several years I have been approached by many people who were interested in representing me, but ended up fizzling out after a short period of time. Serious art representation requires fortitude, determination, and savvy. The art rep helped me to put together a full marketing package (pics, bio, cd's, cd covers, letterhead, cards, logo, website, etc.) and knows a lot of people that are the right sort of audience for my art work. Seeing the total presentation package put together and then following that up with meetings, send outs, phone calls, email campaigns, and social marketing has given me a sense of confidence about putting myself out in the world for all to see, not to mention the warm fuzzy feeling I get knowing my rep is working to promote and sell my art.

Audience!!!! I can almost laugh at myself now about never really paying attention to who my audience was and what sort of audience I wanted. I thought if I got a good turn out for my art openings that I must have something great going on, people like my stuff, and I'm attracting a following. Truth is, a lot of people go to art openings to socialize, drink free wine, and eat cheap hors d'oeurves, and occasionally buy some art. What I failed to see is that while having your friends and a ton people to your opening is a great thing, it has very little to do with selling art. I mean doing an art show isn't all about selling art, but I know I like to sell my art and not have it sitting in a storage unit where nobody gets to appreciate it. In order to get the work sold you have to have the right audience.

Currently I am doing a new series of equestrian work centered around Polo. There are only about 5000 Polo players in the U.S., so if I want to sell to Polo players I have to reach them by another means that just hanging art in the gallery. This is where a good art representative comes into play, and can market the art work world wide to a very specific audience. I have to say that I think it's pretty funny that I never focused on many of the fundamental aspects of selling my art. Of course all this talk about selling is not the reason I do art, however it is a way to sustain a life style I enjoy so that I can do more art, having the time to experiment and grow conceptually.

This is simply my abbreviated take on my life in art, and should be taken with a grain of salt as we all have our individual ways of creating art, marketing, and finding our own paths through the myriad of possibilities.

Truthful Musings From The Studio

"MisMusings" from the studio.

As an artist I would suspect that we all experience peak moments of creativity, connecting with the divine, being a tool of that which is greater than ourselves and producing amazing art work. On the days I'm really in sync I can feel a tingle from the bottom of my spine rising all the way up through my crown chakra. Other days when only questions, anxiety, lack of confidence, insecurity, and to many questions come in to play to be of any real creative force I sit waiting for inspiration or simply do something else.

 Sometimes the best thing to do on days when it feels like your forcing the creative process is to do something completely different, take a walk, sleep, climb a mountain, or maybe go roller skating. Other times I find that if I simply make myself pick up my old wood handled brush and weave strokes of wet vivid liquid over the canvas, that I will let go of my inner chatter, circuitous internal dialogue, and find myself happily in the groove of creating, letting go, and free from misconception and attachment to what my mind tells me is real. Of course things can take another direction such as, producing a really ugly overworked painting, but this can also allow for new revelations in the direction you may really want to take.

I am, at this moment, talking myself into painting, picking up those beautiful brushes, mixing the sensuous chromatic liquids, brushing across the gleaming linen that beckons for me do something, anything!

Today I am working on a collaborative project and musing about my new Polo equestrian series. This is the first time I can recall being apprehensive about how to proceed with my art. Possibly, to much thought and to little action are at play as I look at the sketches on the walls, wondering how I want to approach them with paint and brush. Part of my mind plays the familiar tune of, simply apply action rather than thought, and the other half says that I might want to think some more, make more mock up paintings and be more sure of the direction I want to take. I'm feeling a bit insecure, wondering if what I paint will be acceptable. Acceptable to who? Acceptable for mass intake? Acceptable for sales. I can't believe these hesitations, questions, and feelings of inadequacy are roaming the my neural pathways, and making me pause from taking action. I have never done this before. I have always felt self assured, confident, committed to creating whatever was in the spirit of creation with no forethought of, 'is this okay, and will it be liked by people?"

Where did this come from? Why am I thinking rather than doing? Why am I consumed by the thought of acceptance and admiration?

To much coffee stimulating my neural network into senseless acts of introspection having nothing to do with reality, or so I tell myself this tale to sooth the savage reaper of non creativity.

The truth is, that I am far outside my arena of comfort. I usually create purely from instinct, intuition, some internal guiding force that I have relied on for the last thirty years, the one that tells me what's next and guides my hand smoothly across the canvas. I felt comfortable from that vantage point, never knowing where I was going, yet ending up in the right place without so much conscious effort. Now I am creating a series for a particular reason, or so it seems........

I am on a path to be purely a "professional artist", to support myself solely from my art work, believing that if I give the audience what they want, I will sell. In reply to previous statement I reply, "rather mundane, simplistic, egoistic, and functioning more in the economic sphere, rather than the spiritual, unseen, the place of risk, adventure, unknown, the possibilities that would not exist otherwise, living truth and expressing it".

Pragmatism and income weigh heavily on my mind when encroaching the idea making my bread from art. Somehow when I do architecture the process seems so much easier. I get a job, work with the client, design, draw the design & mechanics of it, get paid, and done. I see architecture that way, as a means, as creative process ending with bread on table. In painting I have always felt it as a place of refuge, freedom from the litany of responsibilities such as, planning, making money, etc. I am simply experiencing a new concept for my art, and my heart will not sink in doing so.

You are witnessing my thoughts in action here, hope it's not to boring as I make my best effort to try and conclude what I am actually doing with my art and why I am having such a difficult time proceeding, actuating, putting paint to canvas. I hope that you, the reader might find solace if you are lost as I am, and if you are on the other side of the spectrum of creativity I ask that you might share your thoughts.

Saying For The Day: Seek truth, and while your doing it be truthful.

The Art Of Value & Grace

Recently Alan Bamberger posted a poignant question on Facebook that left me pondering possible answers for several days. If you aren't familiar with Alan, he is a renowned art critic, author, and art consultant who also presents some great information and questions on Facebook.

The question at hand is, " why do people want to buy your art and what do they get from it"?

A simple question, but one that I had not given a great deal of thought to previously, and most of my musing was and is about the creation of art and how to sell my art.

One of the first things most marketers do before a product is ever put out for consumers is to ask the central question, "who is the target market"? They look for levels of education, income, geographic location, sexual orientation, gender, age, race, and many more factors. Compiling this data and using newer sophisticated neural marketing techniques they come up with a specific group of people that will purchase a certain product. There is a great deal of money, energy, and time invested in knowing who will buy a specific product. The marketers and media experts know why someone will buy and how they will feel when they buy it. All of this a byproduct from the free enterprise system that generally uses the inducement of fear as a motivating factor to get you purchase a product.

Is this ever done with art? I haven't encountered any of the above mentioned marketing techniques to sell art.

Artist are generally more concerned with creating art than with the sale of art. Creating art is realy a full time job in and of itself. Of course artist have to eat, buy paint, canvas, pay mortgages, and attend to the general financial responsibilities that most people do. There are the "hired guns" in the art world, the graphic artist, illustrators, muralist, and so fourth that create art on demand and get paid a certain fee for creating art, and are generally guided by someone else vision. Those of who are not "hired guns" and create art purely from our hearts, souls, and gelatinous gray matter, are compelled to create, and desire to have someone out there on this blue globe acquire our work in exchange for greenbacks.

Most of the time fine artist are creating from an inner calling, a need to share their humanity, spirit, and experiences, of which have to find and avenue in some physical medium like painting, sculpture, film, poetry, photography, novels, and many other mediums. As an artist it often feels like a strange compulsion of some silent, yet loud invisible source telling us what we must do and when to do it. Some say it is a curse to be artist because often creating art comes before good sense, though as we age this compulsive state of being generally becomes more rounded and better balanced.

What most of us want as artist is to have someone else sell and market our work so that we can focus on creating art.

Do we know why people buy our art?

Possible answers.

1) Acquiring art for investment, sort of like playing the stock market, buy low, sell high.

2) Desiring to impress other people and have them believe you are a cultured sort of person.

3) Artist often buy other artist works because they like to support their fellow comrades.

4) A love of human expression through the medium of art.

5) Must have something on the wall above the couch.

The answers are as many as there are stars in the galaxies, and I have yet to come up with any definitive answers, though all this musing has gotten me to contemplate what my target market might look like.

First, they must have disposable income.

Second, they probably have a general interest in modern art.

Third, more than often they know me and like me.

Fourth, they might believe that someday my art will be worth more than they paid for it.

Quite honestly, for all the musing I've done on the questions of selling I have very few answers, and hope that a good art marketing person will manifest in my life. Most of the art I have sold has been from art shows, friends, and a few on line sales, and the whys of their purchases remains a bit of a mystery to me.

I would love to hear from anyone reading this article as to what they think about the reason is that people buy art and what they get from purchasing it.

Saying For The Day: Create from you heart, be true to yourself, and embrace joy.

The Sweet Spot

There is a place on the tightrope of bliss that allows for infinite, perfect expression of creativity. It's always a balancing act when painting to apply the needed intellect, and to simply be a conduit of creativity. Also, there is a "sweet spot" when the viscosity of the paint on the canvas is just right and your brush flows like a gentle breeze on a full moon night.

Let's be a bit more specific here and quit talking all the "new age" sort of lingo.

The heart of the matter is having the knowledge of color, composition, paint application, or any medium you may work in, good conceptual skills, and being able to combine that with ability to let go of all your preconceptions as to how the painting should evolve and what the final result will be.

Often, after having done a lot of preliminary sketches, making small mock ups, and deciding the pallet to be used, I tend to have what feels like quite an investment in the piece at hand, and that it should turn out as I have chosen. This investment of ego can create a "stiff painting", one that is technically great, but will not speak to the viewer.

The nature of evolution is to seek that which is unknown, thus producing something dissimilar to the previous model in order to create something great. This seems to apply to art as well.

If you are determined to have a work of art turn out exactly as you have planned it, whether in the minds eye or on paper, more than often you will end up with a well orchestrated piece of art with a lack of that something special we'll call "heart connection"

What is "heart connection"?

It is the ability to create a work of art for the viewer that will resonate with peoples hearts. They feel what you wanted to communicate, they can associate with your work of art because it has more than just good technical and conceptual skills. It has that something extra special that words cannot define.

The reason that words are incapable of defining "it" is because the person who created the art went beyond the dimensions of intellectual skills and got in the rhythm with the force of life. The invisible energy that gives us all life, movement, animates us.

Ability to connect with that sweet spot when you paint gives an added dimension to your art work. When you are in the zone of true creativity balanced between the mind and the invisible energy of life, you know you have hit the "sweet spot".

Saying For The Day: Let go, be open to the unexpected..........

BALANCE

Today I am presented with making decisions about what carries the greatest priority in my life. I have written in previous articles about the balancing act most artist encounter between creating art, promoting, taking care of everyday responsibilities, and of course having time for family and friends. Often, finding a pleasing balance requires considerable focus, fortitude, and flexibility.

Yesterday was a flurry of meetings with clients for architectural jobs, and I didn't even have time to write this blog post, much less pursue any art activity. When wearing many hats as I do, the balancing act becomes more complicated.

I have recently started a new Polo Equestrian Series and have now completed about four working sketches for the series of ten paintings. My goal is to have all the sketches completed and painted in about sixty days. This is where the the balancing act requires some reassessment on my part to measure what is a priority.

1) Income is essential, and we all like to eat and play.

2) I love art and architecture, as both are creative and challenging.

3) The income for architecture is welcome and needed.

4) Art sales are often not providing the same level of income as architecture.

5) Both require an enormous amount of time and commitment.

6) So, how do I do everything I want to do?

First of all I have to stop being so serious about all of this. Things will get done as they get done, when they get done.

Second of all, I realize what a blessing it is to even be able to have to think about all this stuff.

Knowing this slows my million miles a second brain diatribe down long enough to realize there is no real gain or loss from any of this, and that the most important thing is to have fun, love what I have been given, and embrace the beauty of this moment.

Once I slow down the circuitous thoughts, I can easily focus and find solutions.

Saying For The Day; Relax, Count your Blessings and say Thank You.

Computers & The Studio

Yesterday I decided to venture to the studio without my usual side kick, my laptop computer. A simple choice to make with profound implications.

I usually take the laptop to the art studio because I want to keep up on my emails, check Facebook, write blogs, and do some photoshoping when I take breaks from painting. I never paused to realize that this could distract me so much from my original intention, which of course is to paint, draw, visualize, and converse with other artist.

To my surprise this welcome change brought about unanticipated creativity and investigation into some subject matter I have been curious about for some time now. I have a small library of art books and poetry at the studio of which I usually only glance at throughout my day. However, yesterday I spent my breaks from painting doing a considerable amount of reading which yielded great insights and new knowledge about painting mediums and gold leafing.

This was much more fulfilling and rewarding than thinking about what's happening on Facebook , email, and blogs. Also, my perception of time was considerably different, the day seemed longer, slower paced, and I was much more focused.

I still love my computers and doing all the stuff I do on them, but I also realize how using them can be very distracting. I'm now thinking that I may go several days without using a computer and see how I feel. I mean it wasn't that long ago when computers were not a part of my daily activity and I got along just fine.

In summation, yesterday was my most productive day at the studio due to choosing a different course of action.

Saying For The Day; Try something new, something different in your life........

Creating Time

Between everyday responsibilities; the have to, must do, and need to get done, there is the "creative time" that eludes many people. In order to find the time to make art I must intentionally create time to pursue my artistic passions. In doing so, sometimes I have to rearrange all those have to get done items of everyday responsibilities.

A lot of people ask me how I find the time to do everything I do and they think I have a life unfettered by the realities of responsibilities. I run an architectural business, make short films, paint, and am also writing a book. I'm not a super human, nor do I have any more time than anyone else, I mean the day is only twenty four hours long, give or take a few minutes of planetary fluctuation.

One of the largest consumers of time is the ole television, and the social site media perusing on the internet, of which I'm also guilty of. I don't watch television per say, I'll watch a movie on Hulu on the internet, and yes I do my fair share of social media as well.

I always ask myself, "is this how I want to be spending my time?" Asking this question helps to keep me conscious about how I spend my time, and if I would really rather be doing something else, whether relaxing in a different way or being productive with something. I know I can sit and watch a movie for two hours and feel like ten minutes has passed by. If I use those two hours to write, do art, or give some love to my fiancee, then more than often I feel a sense of fulfillment and that I am in the flow of life.

So, my secret to living is very simple. Turn off the T.V. and the social media, and listen to what your spirit, body, and mind want to do. We all like to feel a sense of accomplishment. We know when we are in the flow of life, and resonating with the energy of life. Life is river, you can hold on to the rocks on the shore and fear the river, or you can swim with the current and enjoy the ride.

Saying for the day: Be true yourself, know yourself, know your passion.

Collaboration With Artist

Moving Mayhem - Studio 4

Working in your studio day after day, isolated from other artist is one way to produce art work, and another method is to get out of the studio, meet other artist, work on projects together, exchange concepts, and have some commentary on each others art work.

Recently I opted to move my art studio at my house to an art space with about thirty other working artist. I hadn't worked in an environment like this since my days at the university, and always thought the best creative condition for me was to work alone. After moving all the stuff and setting up the art space in a small 300 sq. ft. walled space, I started to meet other artist, have conversations, invite guest over to view my art work, and found that I loved the energetic buzz of working around so many creative minded people.

Seeing so many artistic people, styles, and concepts on a daily basis affords the opportunity to expand beyond reading and viewing art work in books, which can be quite illuminating, but does not posses the power of real human interaction which is truly inspiring.

I consider this move on the best I have made and would suggest to any artistically inclined person to find interaction with other artist on a daily basis.

Also, I have recently started a collaborative project with a good friend of mine who is a renowned photographer. He takes the photos and processes them, then I add my painting to the photo work. Sometimes even after I paint he adds more photographs to the art work. Before starting a piece we discuss the concept, exchange ideas about the general direction we feel the piece can take, and then give each other complete freedom to pursue our passion.

This has been a great exercise in letting go of ego, and also I learned that I actually had some fear around working on someones art work, in that I might not be accepted - like, what if they don't like what I did to the art work, or what if I mess it up? After letting go of these fears, and removing the seriousness from this collaboration, we have created some great art work and learned a lot about ourselves in the process.

Saying For The Day: Share your creative spirit with others..........

FINDING BALANCE IN ART

Sometimes it is a direct conscious effort in choosing pallets, approach, style, and the concept for art work, and at other times it seems that if you let the subconscious energies operate all on it's own the results are far more vibrant, alive, conveying to the viewer a sense of honesty, truth, and vibrancy that may not happen when subject matter and aesthetics are overly intellectualized. I was thinking about this in relationship to meditation and the conscious choice to elevate your energetic state.

Some say that by simply being present, aware of your thoughts and actions that you are meditating, and advancing energetically, while others say that you must consciously choose to participate in a ritualized form of meditation, such as doing it for 30 minutes or more every day while sitting in a posture that allows energy to flow easily through the chakras.

In choosing to do a ritualized activity, I ask, is that always the route to take in order to achieve the greatest effect and does it allow for spontaneous experience, such as when you paint without a great deal of forethought as to concept and aesthetics.

It seems to be a hit and miss sort of situation when simply approaching a canvas and letting out whatever will come forth, whereas a strongly preconceived notion will be well directed, but may also be a stifling approach that doesn't allow for spontaneous events, so the painting will look stiff and un-energetic.

I am still finding the balance between allowing for energetic spontaneous occurrence, and having a well thought out map of where I'm going conceptually and aesthetically.

Saying For The Day; Listen to your internal dialogue and what your body is telling you.

First Art Blog Post

This is my first blog post 3-25-10

I wanted to start this blog because I thought it would be interesting to share my artistic endeavors with you. Some days are spent painting, but there is also a great deal of time spent in the area of promotion and research. I am just starting to find the balancing point in how I spend my time, to little time spent on the marketing aspects and I know I will have few sales, but to much and I will have no new art work to show. This is one of the things many artist struggle with, some just want to paint and forgo the marketing aspect of things, while others will do lots of marketing, but have little art work to display. Of course if you are in the upper ranks of artist, that is, "well known" you will probably have an art representative. As for me, I am in a few galleries, sell my work on line, and through word of mouth. I hope to find a great art representative this year, this would free me up to paint, paint, paint.........

Today I had a great day in the studio working on some compositions for my upcoming equestrian series. I have loved horses for some time now and I also ride dressage, but until now I had never really tried to draw horses. I think I've drawn just about everything else and feel very comfortable drawing, but I still have a lot to learn about horse anatomy and how to present them with a sensibility of the noble, strong, beautiful creatures they are. I probably will spend the next year drawing & painting studies of horses before I attempt to create the real series for a gallery to sell.

Saying for the day: Express yourself without ego, from your heart, honestly, and with love.