amazing grace

Something amazing happened last week. A man compared my work to Mark Rothko's. Considering the fact that I think of that artist as "Saint Rothko" this was truly amazing praise. Obviously as an abstract colorist I worship at the feet of several artist gods: Whistler, Redon, Monet, Turner, Gauguin and Degas. I owe homage to Klee and Gorky and Chagall as well as Milton Avery. Each artist has other artists whose work transcends earthly bounds. We may not take direct inspiration from them but their uniqueness haunts the recesses of our minds. So to have someone say that anything I created reminded him of Rothko's profound work was not only an astonishing compliment but a reason for me to remind myself that simplicity and reduction are often the path to successful pieces. Less is more for sure and nobody practiced that better than St. Rothko when exploring the vibrant subtleties of pure color. Amazing grace indeed.

dilemma

I find myself at a crossroad. This is normally the time of year when I feel most creative and am in fact most productive. Real life is pulling me in assorted directions. This is fact not a real complaint. What is perplexing is my desire to work in the studio and concentrate on larger pieces rather than the small water color things I have been doing. My work needs to be framed and frames cost money. I currently have a backlog of maybe 2 dozen unframed larger pieces. What justifies the expense of creating more work in a climate of such poor sales? Smaller work is easier to keep track of in a portfolio but it certainly sells no faster than larger pieces. Might as well make what I want to satisfy myself until I either run out of materials or make some sales to replenish supplies.

teaching

At breakfast Thursday morning I got into a conversation with 2 previously unknown women artists. They mentioned taking classes and just hearing that I realized how much I miss teaching, especially with adults. In addition to sharing my own knowledge and expertise I recognize the fact that I miss the exchange of information that arises form teaching. I miss learning the unexpected from students.

I told these women that if they had any interest in a composition/design course that I'd be happy to work with them. I mentioned my preference for colored pencils and watercolor crayons so as not to get bogged down with painting techniques. This seemed to interest them. But mainly they were interested in learning composition, something I feel equally comfortable explaining as when I speak about color. I have no idea why something I view as an essential skill is so often left out of classes. I look at paintings by people who have learned a specific method of replicating a photograph and have managed to conquer a painting technique or 2 and all I can focus on is their weak design and composition, their poor use of negative space in support of the picture's theme elements. Decent technique, lots of hours and they want to know why their picture just isn't quite "right".

So I hope to hear back from these 2 women that they have found a 3rd person interested in studying composition and basic design. If this develops I doubt anything will happen until after the holidays but I certainly hope something will happen.