Enjoying My Imperfections

Beauty is what most artists I know look for when looking for something to paint; beautiful women, beautiful landscapes, beautiful flowers. I'm talking and thinking about artists whose style runs along realistic, not abstract lines. Artists who paint for a living or are serious amateurs who do not need to rely on a sale. 

How important is beauty?  How do such artists define the concept of beauty? Is it simply finding the most beautiful scene to paint or just painting roses? For many, it's as simple as finding a beautiful young girl. For many years that is what I did. At times I still just paint a rose or a sunset or a beautiful girl, because I need to produce paintings. Something I do now, that I did not do when I was very young, is find a way to make each painting special - to me and to the person who decides they want to live with my work for a very long time. My collectors want something unique, which is what a great many successful artists give them. They add flare to their roses, they add their personal vision to their landscapes. I, myself, always find a moment to add to my work.

We artists have moments when we see clearly - when we see with more than our eyes. All our senses come into play, all our beliefs come into play. My dad's "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing it right". My Mom's love of flowers and both their belief in being part of the community.The secret that so many painters look for and hope a master artist will reveal to them is "finding oneself" and finding a way to put oneself into one's work.

I've talked about Bob and Don a few times. Bob can copy a photo perfect or capture a scene before him perfect. His paintings look great, but they lack that reaching out to the viewer's heart. Don, who cannot draw worth a lick and has no understanding of composition can grab one's heart by putting his soul into each of his paintings. 

Not everyone is capable of understanding the importances of being different. For so many, it is more important to be perfect. At 71 I'm enjoying my imperfections.  

My First Painting Trip

           Whether working from life or from a photo one needs to know their subject. I remember my first painting trip. I did a lot of driving - looking for that perfect subject. Ended that first day quite disappointed. I'd used up a lot of gas and had seen a lot of so-so subjects. I didn't know part of being an artist was being able to see the important things like the farms and barns I passed up were people's lives. Came home with a few paintings, just nothing I could be proud of. Instead of wandering around the country looking for a Wyeth painting or a Schmid painting I picked a place I knew something about - the Clark Smith house. Not an impressive scene, but one I knew something about.

          Clark Smith fought in the Civil war, was wounded and died twenty years later from that Confederate musket ball. Knowing that the house and barn had been built by a veteran of the Civil War added a bit of color to my painting. Knowing Clark and his wife are buried in the little grove of trees just south of the house added even more interest for me. As a teen, a few of my friends and I checked out the story. We found the grave markers, five in all. Whether the story was true or not really didn't matter to me. Knowing the farm had maybe belonged to a Civil War soldier gave me that little something to do a better painting. 

          Not all artists need some connection to the subjects they put on canvas. I found for me a connection, no matter how trivial, makes for a better painting.