Full moon over st. mick's church

Putting that little touch of oneself into a work of art is what raises the bar. Whether it be a portrait, landscape or a still-life, that touch can put a good painting over the top. It's what makes for great art and great artist. Beautiful women are a favorite subject of many artists and beautiful scenes top the list of many landscape painters. The Grand Canyon is one of the most painted places in the world. Some painting competitions have separate awards just for paintings of the Grand Canyon. 

         Great artists do not rely on their subjects alone to carry their paintings, they find ways to add interest and drama to their work - an edginess. Dark forbidding skies can increase the drama of an ordinary scene, deep blue skies with puffy white clouds can add the feel of wind or the heat of a summer afternoon to an ordinary painting. Backlighting adds drama to a simple portrait. Lighting from below can add interest to a girl's face. We all see these beautiful places and gorgeous girls. An artist adds that little bit of the unusual - that little something of himself to his subjects. An artist will study a scene for days before finding the right time of day to do a painting of it. How often do people see their favorite places at twilight after a rain? Artists can capture such moments and sights. A face dripping with water in a rain storm, or the wonder on one during the forth of July fireworks. These treats of the unusual come along so seldom people hold them inside and bring them out when in need of comfort. I like to bring out my visual treasures onto my canvases, reliving these moments everyday in my studio.

          Two nights ago it was the full moon over St Mick's Church. The silhouette of the Church Steeple and the pale white moon floating in an indigo sky. I thought of my friend Ronnie who alerts me to such sights and ideas of how to incorporate all this into a figure painting began to come into my head. Pulling over I took in this inspiring scene for 30 minutes. Will any of the ideas I played with make it to a canvas? I do not know, but working on such ideas strengthen my imagination. 

In The Studio

  Selling a painting involves letting go. For me, letting go of a painting involves trading a piece of me for the ability to continue to create more paintings. In the studio, I get in touch with myself more deeply than anywhere else. Painting in the studio is about who I am as a person. How I see in the studio is different than how I see when out on-the-spot painting. Outside I allow the landscape to dictate how my paintings need to be, while in the studio, I listen to my paintings as they speak to me. In the studio, my soul has a voice in how the painting grows. 

          For me, art is more than a way of making a living. For real artists, what we do is more than simply painting a picture. Sounds a bit elitist, but there are those who need to paint and then those who find painting a simple way of making a living. I cannot say who is a real artist or who is simply painting because they can. There are times when I see paintings that reveal the hand which painted them. Boring brush work reveals a hand that had no real connection to a subject. There are other telltale signs of the difference in paintings by an artist and those simply painting for the money. 

          I, for one, find it difficult to let go of some paintings. I give my all to each and every painting. A few, mostly those done in the studio, involving subjects close to my heart are hard to let go of, though not always my best works. Sometimes my best works are done without my soul getting involved. Those are easy to let go of. Then there are also those that mean a lot to me, I'd find it difficult to let go of, and are less desirable to buyers and collectors. Sometimes working in the studio is quite difficult with all the decisions I need to make. What to paint, what size to paint, what colors to use, who to hire and will they be reliable? While I find going out to paint simpler, while others find it hard work.