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 & WEBSITES

An unusual turn of events led to a joyous and new adventure in my art web sites. For years I had hired various website developers to create websites, keep them updated, and functioning. One the most exasperating experiences I had was through the use of Elance where you hire people you don't know and hope for the best. Well, okay, I was being a cheapskate and almost always took the lowest bid which ended up causing me to do an enormous amount of work because most of the low bidders are just starting out on their new venture and have little experience. Of course, there are proficient and talented website developers on Elance, but you have to pay considerably more than I did to get the results you want without spending hours emailing and Skype chatting, in which case you might as well hire a local professional.

Then, the unusual occurred. A friend of mine who has an incredible website, turned me onto his web developer. This may not not seem like a momentous occasion to celebrate, but what I'm about to relate to you is something I think most artist and possibly others would like to have for their website.

As artist we are constantly and continually updating our web pages because we create new works of art, update our biographies with each new show, and revise the media & collections regularly. Well, with a regular HTML or XHTML website this would always require time spent talking with the website guy or gal and require funds that I would rather spend on other things, like having a great evening out for dinner and a play, or going bungee jumping. I haven't actually gone bungee jumping yet, but with all the money I'm saving now I can add going sky diving to that as well.......if I summon the courage to do so.

Mr. website, my life saving pal told me that he would create a website that I could update myself without having to be a super computer geek who knows all the programming languages like HTML and XML and QRSTUVWXYZ.......Wow!!!! Is this really possible I exclaimed or am I just dreaming? For many of you out there this may seem a bit ridiculous, but for me, the idea of being able to easily update my website with little computer savvy I can make claims too, is really worth a celebration, a big party with fireworks and 100 friends in the Bahamas.

Now, the easy part. He did all the difficult programing for me so that I can do whatever I want on the site. Believe it or not, the item I speak of is well used, but generally not used to create websites with, and as a matter of fact I have blogged on it for years and lots of people use it. It's called.....are you ready? WordPress! You can create a website that looks like a website, not a blog, and control your content, aesthetics, and easily update. As I'm sure you have guessed, there are some limitations since there are templates which regulate your creative juices, but I chose to use the limitations to my advantage and end up with a site I'm thrilled with.

There's probably a lot of people that are already aware of this WordPress web building thing, and yes I am not super computer savvy, so forgive me if I have bored you with the obvious. For those that haven't seen the web light yet I offer you my new experience in websites.

William Rossoto

www.rossotoart.com

Contemplations on Art

Art has simply become too serious of a subject matter! When did the joy and laughter of creating art take a stage right, behind the facade of intellectualism? I mean the ultimate goal of art is the act of the creation itself, to be in union with the subtle energy of all creation, and to share that creation with other people as an expression of humanity. How did it become so over intellectualized, and who thought it was so important to exercise the ego in writing articles on art that most people can't comprehend? Is art supposed to be an elitist activity enjoyed by but a few that might grasp it's full intention? So many questions I have circulating through this over indulgent art centered cortex, many of which I will try to give some semblance of an answer to in this abbreviated text that some may consider to pass for writing.

Recently brought to mind by a friend was the following inquiry. He asked what it is that drives me to do a series of work versus creating single art works based upon immediate impressions of life (that's the simplified version). This put me in a bit of a tailspin for a time, as I hadn't truly contemplated why I did a series, I just know that's what I do. After a few hours of intense and almost painful introspection I came to the conclusion that there seems to be two central thoughts about the creation of art. The first, that there is value in developing a series of work over an extended period of time. The second, creating art on a more immediate experiential level of being is more honest and truthful form of creation negating the ego structures of a long term goal. Naturally, this may sound dualistic and possibly simplistic in the approach to the conceptual aspect of creating art and of the individual artist, but here's my take on it. Oh my, this is simply getting too serious and full of erroneous information!

If you went to art school at a college, the probability is that you create art in a series over an extended period of time devoted to one subject category  because that is what you were taught to do. We were ingrained with the idea that developing a series artwork is about the fullest exploration of whatever subject matter we chose and that  to endeavor over an extended period of time would create depth, truth, and understanding of ourselves that would not have evolved otherwise, of which will be apparent in the artwork. Not only that, but you would hone your skills, your craft would improve, you essentially would be illuminated somewhere along the route of extended "doingness". The equation being something like; endurance + time + exploration in a singular study of one subject matter = depth + true artistry + understanding of yourself and your subject matter, therefore creating great art. The idea being that you get to the core of your own psyche & "subtle energy field" because you chose a singular focal point to play upon the art. Of course this premise is lacking in any actual factual material or studies, but if someone would like to give me a major government grant to study this, I would likely be up for the task.

On to the artist that like to do art work based upon immediate perceptions and sees no value in embracing an ongoing series of work. I would like to remind you that none of what I say matters at all, and I am simply contemplating nonsense. So why are you reading this? Maybe because you have thought about this as well, or your bored and reading this late at night. Either way I couldn't really say much to my friend that posed the original question to me. I think I'm to deeply entrenched in the notion that my essence is developed through long term focus, and that will be apparent to anyone that views my art work. Somehow this last statement reeks of false thinking and shows how imbibed I am with school nonsense. The bottom line here is, it doesn't really matter what the process is that you want to use, be it actualized over a short or long period of time with or without central focus.

Art is art, let those that don't do it be the admirer & critic, & let the rest of us creative sorts be who we are without all the intellectualism and pretense of today's art world! Have I said anything of value here in this late night rambling?

I would love to hear what you think about this topic.

Be Creative, Express Yourself, Give, and Love Life

BEING INTERVIEWED

The art of the interview is as much as of an art as is painting a picture. There are the right strokes, use of adjacent colors, composition, spontaneity, and listening to what the painting wants, or in this case listening to the person interviewing you. Many magazines, radio, and television interviewers ask the same old warn out questions such as, when did you know you were an artist, or how do you come up with these compositions, etc. You know, the usual banter sufficing as an interview. Then there is the rare opportunity to just sit down with the interviewer and have a relaxed conversation that flows like water, of which I had the joyous occasion of doing today.

One of the things we talked about today was the over intellectualizing of most art reviews and or interviews. While knowing a vast amount of comparative art history, compositional expositions, and conceptual rhetoric has it's advantages, art is self explanatory, or at least in my opinion art should inspire the viewer on to some sort of mental, spiritual, and or philosophical examination, introspection, revelation, or joyous experience without the use of words. The ole cliche of, "a picture speaks a thousand words" does hold some truth, and of course if a work has a very difficult allegorical content, it may need to be broken down into the verbal realm.

Today dealt more in the realm of' "I like that", or "wow those colors are great", and so on, not being the least bit conscious about sounding "artistically correct" or stupid. Another topic that came up today was in consideration of how digital technology is affecting visual fine art, and the difference between the tactile sensation of working with your hands to pressing buttons and using only your mind. So, on we went for an hour or so looking at my art, talking, and forgetting that an interview was actually taking shape. Wonderfully refreshing! Many may consider this an odd approach to interviewing, but I think we both got to know a lot more about each other since no canned questions were presented, and I think I gave him something of value to write about. I am no interview expert, and have but a small parcel of interviews to date, but I felt like writing this article to exclaim my joy, one of getting an interview, and two, thoroughly enjoying it.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this interview today, that is when it reaches the digital world of type.

Keep on being creative, embracing all that life has to offer, and give.

www.rossotoart.com     www.artswami.com

Galleries, Art, & You

I'm writing this post in hope that the many talented artist out there are more informed than than I have been in the past, and if you aren't, maybe this article will be worthy of your consideration.

Most artist produce their work so that others can derive pleasure from it in some form , and possibly be mentally and or spiritually stimulated, challenged about some conventional aspect of society, well...........the list goes on. 

In order for an artist to be seen by an audience requires getting out into the public eye. This is where things get interesting because there are so many ways to gain artistic visibility. The most basic being galleries, our websites, art reps, online galleries, magazines, etc. As you gain web presence you will also gain in the number of unsolicited emails from galleries and art events claiming they want to show your art work, have prize money for the best artist that applies, or claims they have a website that will get your work sold. This might seem like an exciting prospect, but generally they are only looking for ways to make money from unwary artist

.

Essentially galleries, online art galleries, and anyone who makes offers of instant artistic success or unrealistic juried prizes is looking for a naive artist that wants so badly to be seen in the public eye that they will pay whatever the asking price is. I have been one of those artist who in my younger days would do anything to be seen and have my ego stroked. no matter the cost.

Recently I received an email from the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in New York asking me if would like to apply to their gallery for an upcoming group show. I looked them up on the net to see if they had any relevance, and it appeared they do actually have a gallery and they also run a few ads on Saatchi. So I proceeded to give them a call and see what they were about. All sounded innocent enough, they wanted to expand their art roster and might be willing to help promote my art work on their website. What was funny about this whole episode with the Whitney Amsterdam Gallery is that I temporarily lost my reasoning power and ability to use my past experiences as a barometer of the sort of actions not to engage in. Please don't make fun of me now. Yes, I did send them my portfolio, bio, and artist statement knowing full well what was probably going to take shape with these gallery folks. Okay, I plead temporary insanity and that is all I'll say about that! You can probably guess what comes next. Within the period of three day they emailed me back and proclaimed to congratulate me on having been accepted by their gallery and how prestigious and momentous this occasion was, and my, I felt so special and elated for just a brief moment before I read the "terms & conditions" portion of their offer.

Already having an intuitive notion as to what I was getting into, but ignoring it in hopes that one of these darling galleries might actually be forthright and honest..................well, that's asking a bit much. Bottom line, they wanted a minimum of $2100.00 to "represent me" and another 40% on top of that for any art work I sold. I just couldn't believe I fell sucker to a scheme I've seen so many times in the past. I promptly replied with a letter to them saying how pleased I was to be accepted by their gallery, and then I dug in deep telling them exactly what I thought of their scheming gallery ways. Yep, I have once again been a sucker. Why can't these galleries just tell you up front if they want your money for displaying work in their galleries instead of going through the elaborate ritual of baiting the sucker artist. I mean, that would be an honest approach and then it would be pretty easy to access what you may or may not want to do.

Perhaps you have encountered a similar event along your path in art and learned from it. Maybe you have paid someone to have your art seen in a gallery. You may even be paying someone online to have your displayed on a website. I'm not making any judgments about whether or not you may want to pay to get visibility, but I do ask you to take a look at as many ways as possible to sell your work without paying to have it done. I have a friend who says, "if you think you need to pay to get your art seen you're going in the dead wrong direction". I have to agree with him because if someone takes a genuine interest in your art, they are going buy it, or sell it for a commission and the terms and conditions will be up front and honest.

If you have an interesting gallery, art, online, selling, or other interesting art experience please feel free to share it with us here on "LIFE AS AN ARTIST".

ART INTERVIEW

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.

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | Video on TED.com

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | Video on TED.com

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.

Marketing Art Day

Producing art work is a wonderful, joyful experience. If I only create new art and deny the need for marketing my work, I'll have a studio full of art with no outlet for sales, so this day is devoted to gallery research, juried shows, and making follow up e-mails and phone calls.

I find this activity of marketing to require a great deal of creativity in a different realm, and it is an art unto itself. Finding galleries that are within the realm of what I do requires an enormous amount of research and diligence. Each has their own standards for applying, so I have to tweak each application. I also am working on a few things for magazines which want to feature my work, so I put together all the pictures and information for that as well. The most recent request came from My Daily Thread, and I should appear in an article in a few weeks.

I hope that soon I will have an art representative, so that I can focus solely on creating art.

The attached picture is a working sketch for my new equestrian series I recently started.

Saying for the day; Do all things in accordance with your heart...............

AT THE STUDIO 3-26-10

An interesting day at the painting studio, a bit restless, working on some sketches for the upcoming equestrian series, and wrestling with the dynamics of foreshortening. I do love the challenge of learning the anatomy of the horse, as I have never tried to draw them with any degree of accuracy. I think the more knowledge I gain about any visual subject matter gives me a foundation to work from that whether I'm doing realism or abstraction, it gives the drawing and painting a depth it couldn't have otherwise.

So, I'll continue with drawings today, working my way through the unknown, and whatever the results, whether pleasing to me or not so pleasing, I know I have expanded my abilities, and will have learned something new, doing better the next time.

Saying for the day;

I am willing to explore uncharted territory, and find joy in going beyond my comfort level.