Kaleidoscopes

It isn't like I have nothing to do at the Studio, on the contrary life is busy but just nothing to exciting to post so I thought I would share a bit of my passion that I haven't played with for awhile. These where made from images of threads and the black, white and red material.

A letter from Robert

Biscuit reminds me  how important it is to take time out to relax and enjoy life.

 

I receive Roberts letters twice a week and they normally hit home on what ever I have been thinking about.Being the first day of a new year the one thing on my mind is how I am I going to achive everything I want to do this year and Roberts letter helps me to put things in to perspective . I just may complete a few of those goals this year as long as I focus on what is important.

Dear ReBecca,

 

Being largely self-employed, we artists don't have the problems of group stubbornness or committee incompetence. In gratitude and joy we make our private mistakes in an atmosphere of personal reflection, even in the face of self-doubt. Artists are pretty well masters of their own rise or demise. For artists, all attempts to improve standards are of interest. For those among us who might be thinking of New Year's resolutions, here are a few thoughts:

People don't always do what they tell themselves to do, even when they know it's best for them. We all have a contrarian within us--like a mole in the lawn. The stubborn little guy gnaws away at the grass from its roots and makes a mess of the place. In other words, keep an eye out for resolutions that your inner mole may thwart. 

Beware of reaping the opposite of what you intended. Funny thing about human nature, people who set out to get wealthy often find themselves systematically getting poorer. Oddly, others who set their sights on joy can surprise themselves with wealth. Similarly, folks who seek truth can find themselves tangled up in webs of falsehood. Play it as we may, within all of us lies the potential for sloth, ignorance, stupidity, hubris and pride. 

If you do set goals set short, achievable ones and give yourself a star when you complete. The short-goal habit is key to larger success and is at the root of human greatness. Life is think and do, think and do, think and do. Small steps can be greater than great leaps. 

Risk-taking for artists is not like skydiving or catapulting over parked cars on a Ducati. Risk in art is experimentation. There is no sorrow in self-driven experimentation. If it doesn't work, so what? We try again. 

No matter what your calling, no matter what your profession, the coming year will bring new challenges. While we are in difficult times, change is in the air and green shoots are poking through. As self-governing entities, artists have a profound interest in change. Embracing change, we embrace growth and we embrace our future. We grow into our jobs. The head governs, the heart assists, the body acts. 

Best regards,

Robert 

PS: "The Lincoln who is a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, isn't the same Lincoln as the one who addresses Gettysburg." (Barack Obama)

Esoterica: To live, to grow, to take risks, we need to understand ourselves and our spiritual nature. We need to be our own spark and know well of our high calling. As artists, we need to cherish art's democratic nature and hold dear its nobility for all peoples. If you include music, theatre and literature, art is probably the most civilizing thing we'll ever do. With an honest prejudice for quality above all, we artists, among others, are going to have to be above ourselves. It's my sincere wish that your New Year be filled with gratitude and joy. 

 

You can always read more of Roberts letters at The Painter's Keys

The Colour Blue

One never needs to look far for inspriation - We were at the farm cleaning up after the snowstorm that went threw on Sunday, the second one in 4 days. What I thought was  amazing about this picture is the differnt blues I can see and then there is just a small shot of bright yellow that really does stand out in the right light.

October Memory

October is but a memory

A letter from Robert

I subscribe to Robert Glens twice weekly letters and so often they are right on what ever I am thinking of so I thought I would share it today on my very neglected blog . He is also giving away a free book if I link to his site so what the heck - one can never have to many books.....

Two artists
November 2, 2012

Dear Artist,

Because this is a bit personal, I'm not using their real names. They're both about 40 years old.

"Jack" got a BFA and then an MFA from a Midwestern University. He's visited many of the major contemporary art museums and follows the work of several "important" contemporary painters. He's written articles on Philip Guston and others. He subscribes to several art magazines and is "the most knowledgeable art-guy in any discussion." After university he worked for a while in a commercial art gallery. He sometimes writes me long, well-informed letters. He's painted eleven large paintings (two unfinished) since leaving school. He's not represented by any gallery. He thinks you need to move to New York and "get lucky" with a dealer who "really represents you."

"Jill" took two years of art school and then quit. She pays little attention to other artists. She subscribes to no art magazines but has taken several workshops. Her hobbies include bowling and travelling. At one time she also worked in a commercial art gallery. On two or three occasions she's written to me. She's painted "approximately two thousand paintings" since leaving school. She's represented by four commercial galleries in four, well-separated mid-sized cities.

There's a great story in David Bayles and Ted Orland's Art and Fear . Here it is:

"The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the "quantity" of the work they produced, all those on the right solely on its "quality." His procedure was simple: On the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work in the "quantity" group: fifty pounds of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B" and so on. Those being graded on "quality," however, needed to produce only one pot--albeit a perfect one--to get an "A". Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was busy turning out piles of work--and learning from their mistakes--the "quality" group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay."

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Artists get better by sharpening their skills or by acquiring new ones; they get better by learning to work, and by learning from their work." (David Bayles and Ted Orland)

Esoterica: Both subscribers Jack and Jill are thoughtful and enthusiastic artists. Art is central to their lives. And while success and "being able to function as a full time artist" may not be important to some of us, their current situations are quite different. Jack rents an apartment and makes $2150 per month (plus tips and benefits) as an airport porter. Jill works daily in her converted garage in a home she now owns. These days she's averaging $18,000 per month. She has "no benefits."

Experimenting

Just trying out a pattern on EQ7- Someday I would like to make up a couple from the 100s that I have designed. But most need some tweaking before I take them further .

It has been some time since I have painted anything and so this morning I decided to start warming up for the Art for Air fundraiser that is being hosted by the Sussex Artist Co-op. All art work for this event will be 8"x8'x1 1/2" and can be of any medium and any subject. The proceeds will be donated to the local Fire Department and the purchase of a tree or 2 to replace the ones lost in a recent fire down town. Sunflowers are a favorite of mine. I  like flowers and  I love the freedom of the layering that I did on this piece. I haven't given up fabric but painting has help in the mixing of colours and deciding techniques for a piece I have on the design board now.