We went to the Turner exhibition at the Getty Museum.
The trip has me thinking about what a Turner painting say's today. Have the themes of Romanticism run their course? Are they still relevant? Do we still connect to the signs and symbols in a Turner? Does that even matter?
For me, it seems to be about a mysterious conjured light...a light that occurs when oil paints are blended and layered. I suppose the perception of that light could be interpreted to be the "Light of the Heavens"...an attempt to catch a sunrise, sunset, or a rainbow...
To me, it's an interesting effect, like a lyrical chord struck in music, that shapes the air. For me, Turner's paintings still shape the light that bounces off of them in a remarkable way.
"Liking" something really doesn't sum it up, but I've liked Turners paintings from the first time I saw reproductions of them. I like to paint skies and I think he did too. When I see a Turner, I feel like we could maybe paint the same sunset on the same bluff looking out to sea.
Yeah, but I'd just as soon listen to some music and paint in the "studio"...
And look at the Turner poster ( that I didn't get... yet.)
Got to go back.
The paintings still kick, and the watercolors are amazing...
Friday, April 3, 2015
Friday, October 4, 2013
Anonymity…
Tonight I had a student tell me that he wanted to be
anonymous. To just paint the rest of his life and be unknown. I said that ,
except for a few moments in the spotlight, that’s pretty much what I’ve done.
It’s hard to talk about the freedom of anonymity without having it sound like
sour grapes.
We all want to be rich and famous, right? I don’t know why,
but the whole idea really doesn’t appeal to me that much. Really, I don’t much
care, as long as I can pay the bills, round up a show here and there once in awhile,
keep painting and writing songs, I’m good with that.
For one thing, I can’t imagine coming up with something when
I was 24 and keeping with it for the rest of my life. That’s just seems
ridiculous and artificial to me. My life changes, and so does my art. To me, my
art is a reflection of something inside that I feel and need to express at the
moment. It can be just color, a sky, or any number things. I am influenced by
other artists work, by art history, or by the things I see around me. It might
be a process like welding, or building things with plywood, or trying out some
new paint, or brushes.
Of fame and fortune, I’d choose fortune, because in this
culture it might mean freedom. But, maybe not. In the end, what does it matter?
By being anonymous, today, I can paint a Laguna Beach seascape, tomorrow, a
minimalist work, and the next day, write music or do something else. I don’t
have to maintain a public persona of fill up my calendar with things that have
nothing to do with art or music.
It seems we live in a culture of winners and losers. I
prefer being on the sideline going about my business, being who I am. I’m not “runnin’
down a dream…that never would come to me” I’m past the time in my life when I
possibly should have, and I’m good with that.
Anonymity…
Tonight I had a student tell me that he wanted to be
anonymous. To just paint the rest of his life and be unknown. I said that ,
except for a few moments in the spotlight, that’s pretty much what I’ve done.
It’s hard to talk about the freedom of anonymity without having it sound like
sour grapes.
We all want to be rich and famous, right? I don’t know why,
but the whole idea really doesn’t appeal to me that much. Really, I don’t much
care, as long as I can pay the bills, round up a show here and there once in awhile,
keep painting and writing songs, I’m good with that.
For one thing, I can’t imagine coming up with something when
I was 24 and keeping with it for the rest of my life. That’s just seems
ridiculous and artificial to me. My life changes, and so does my art. To me, my
art is a reflection of something inside that I feel and need to express at the
moment. It can be just color, a sky, or any number things. I am influenced by
other artists work, by art history, or by the things I see around me. It might
be a process like welding, or building things with plywood, or trying out some
new paint, or brushes.
Of fame and fortune, I’d choose fortune, because in this
culture it might mean freedom. But, maybe not. In the end, what does it matter?
By being anonymous, today, I can paint a Laguna Beach seascape, tomorrow, a
minimalist work, and the next day, write music or do something else. I don’t
have to maintain a public persona of fill up my calendar with things that have
nothing to do with art or music.
It seems we live in a culture of winners and losers. I
prefer being on the sideline going about my business, being who I am. I’m not “runnin’
down a dream…that never would come to me” I’m past the time in my life when I
possibly should have, and I’m good with that.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Thoughts on money and the arts in the digital era.
I think that we are entering an era when it will become increasingly more difficult to earn a living selling fine art or playing original music.
The best approach is to earn a living some other way, let people call you a hobbyist and pursue your art and music because it's in you to do it. No need to prove anything to anybody...live in the process and ignore everything else.
The best approach is to earn a living some other way, let people call you a hobbyist and pursue your art and music because it's in you to do it. No need to prove anything to anybody...live in the process and ignore everything else.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Expressions of color
I paint these... first for the experience of painting them,
then for the experience of seeing them.
then for the experience of seeing them.
Monday, April 18, 2011
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