The Adventures of Wiley Dog and Sparky: August 2008

Friday, August 29, 2008

2006 SHOW

The 2006 show was the first one - man show since 1983. And to have a breakout show at The Center was a dream come true. Thanks to Gallery Director Susan Barry, I once again had a chance to celebrate my color work. Barry had been a fan of my work since the 1970's and she told me that she had always wanted to put on a display of the work. The timing could have not been better for me as I had been painting non stop and was continually having break through with each piece. It was a time of great joy with my work.

Feeling good about your work is a great feeling but even with that it can be a constant struggle with the canvas. Struggle in my book is a good thing for it really means you are pushing yourself. And pushing yourself is in my way of thinking the only way to get better at this craft. And it can be the smallest of details that you as an artist agonize over while in most cases the viewing public does not have a clue. I learned early on that those monumental " break through " pieces that mean so much to your artistic journey most times have little impact on the viewer. From this I have an understanding that all works should stand on their own merits and not be influenced by statements from the artist. It was a powerful lesson that freed me and my work from each other. And that allows my creative journey to move forward, alas, not without a few steps backwards now and then. In the early seventies I had tremendous failings in the process of completing a painting. When things would not work out I would abandon the work and move to the next. With at times the same frustrations. A friend and fellow artist Hazel Whitford insisted to me that my creative process was always going to fail if I continued this way of searching for the " perfect " painting. She convinced me that I must finish each piece and go from there. She was so right ! Each piece became a world of it's own and became a spring board to more quality work. It seems simple now looking back , but it was such a struggle at the time. Thank you Hazel ! In my college days I had such great teachers and I was such a poor student that I did not think that I had learned anything about painting. Many years later I realized that they had taught me the building blocks to be an artist. I believe that all artist must be self taught in their own way, but being told how to do things can make the journey sweeter. I think that Irving Marcus, a well known California artist and a teacher of mine, might have helped me the most. It was simple but direct, " If you want to paint a person with a green face, then paint them with green faces !". That sentence freed me from almost all chains in my artistic journey. It was such a huge moment for me and it has stuck with me for over 40 years. The 70's and the 80's were filled with success, many one - man and group shows my work grew but my artistic business skills were non existent. I was a rebel without a cause. Fighting your canvas is one thing but fighting the art world proved to be a hazard. I soon found that certain work would sell and I slowly drifted to that way of creating. And the results I was painting for the viewer and not for myself. I had lost my soul ! Many people would have done it different I am sure but for me I had to proclaim that I had killed the art inside of me. I stopped painting. For three years I did not pick up a brush, my being a artist faded away. Then the desire to create finally came back. This time I convinced myself that if I were to continue this path I had to find my own way. And I painted in obscurity for a decade letting no one see the work. Then I let a few people in on the work. And by 2006 I was ready to show again. And of the 14 pieces shown I had sold 15 and donated more money to The Center than any artist. I felt I was back. But just then I remembered in my early days of being an artist I was told you could not call yourself an artist if you had not sold anything, which I had not at the time. Well that is a lie, and unfortunately at the time I was not ready to rebuke that statement. Yes, I have now sold many works but that will never make me an artist. Creating makes me an artist, and I have been blessed with that for so many years....thank you.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

LAST YEAR'S SHOW

Last year's show was a special show for me. I had just completed two and a half years of only painting. Keeping at it every day finally was reaping it's rewards. New ways of handling paint had been discovered as well as new ways to apply the paint. The show reflected this growth and that made the artist in me so very happy.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

SHOW IN ONE WEEK

In one week I will be hanging The Adventures of Wiley Dog and Sparky at The Center For The Arts. Of course there are the normal pre - show jitters but as a whole it has become very exciting. Another chance to show a year's plus of work. I really do like that feeling. Still a lot of details to finish but that should be accomplished without to much fan fare. After all as an artist all you really can do is put on the best show you have at the time, the rest is in other hands. Then again it is my way of thinking that all you have to do to be an artist is to create. You do not have to show or sell your work all you need is to continue to create. If that is done the rest will find it's course. That means that you must constantly strive to fulfill your goals with your work and with these goals some will be constant and some will surface as the work demands.

This years journey was filled in learning about materials and tools. After some 40 plus years of working with the same objects ( paints , mediums, canvas and brushes) I started paying closer attention. It seems funny to think that but that is what this year has been about. Learning how to paint is some kind of journey !