This morning’s painting session was my 15th on The News. I finished the painting and took a short break, celebrating with a cup of coffee. Returning to the studio, I immediately realized the last thing I painted was too strong and needed healing. I worked another 45 minutes and set the brush down and went upstairs for a…
Steven Pressfield’s the War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles offers pop psychology advice to struggling writers and artists. Pressfield is most known for his novel and film The Legend of Bagger Vance. Before reading this book on my Kindle, I’d read nothing by the author. Mimicking Sun Tzu’s classic The…
Julian Barnes writes about his love for art and art museums in The Guardian. One point he makes, one which I agree with, is that you can go your own way but you must come to terms with modern art. Although I do not share his passion for some of his favorite artists (Gustave Moreau, for example), his journey as a youthful art lover mirrors mine in many respects.
Recommended.
I finally got Garth and Daryl Talking to the ‘finishing stage’ and lite the rocket. I determined to finish the painting in a single day, but after a day-long marathon it wasn’t done, so I followed with a half-day session and finally finished it. Garth and Daryl Talking is 42″ x 68″. I build my own stretchers for…
I build paintings slowly. I spend a considerable amount of time on the drawing before touching a brush. Once painting starts, I try to work as efficiently as possible. It doesn’t always work out–so much can go awry. But the point of so much preparation is go get a painting to the finishing stage where…
This article in The Week provides a perspective on the Baltimore riots that mirror my own. As a Baltimore native, the author, Tim Kreider, has a dog in the fight. The author, although white, discusses the alarming and dramatic changes in the nation’s police since 9-11. The author maintains, and I agree with him, that the militarization of the police has increased the number of unfortunate incidents like those in Baltimore and Ferguson. It’s dismaying and off-putting to see the police arrayed in military paraphernalia confronting U.S. citizens once again. The changes are evident even in small-town America where we live.
Of course, I don’t condone the riots, but the police appear to be developing an ‘us vs them’ mentality. Read the article.
Excellent article about the sate of the modern art museum.
The author, Jerry Saltz, hits many of the points I’ve written about. Of course, it doesn’t take special insight to notice the immense changes taking place in the modern museum. Museums are becoming fun-house extravaganzas filled with events designed to attract the young. Whatever is taking place, vast changes are underway. Read the article yourself.