|
Why is it so difficult? "Why is it so difficult?" Did you ever wonder why artists all think themselves so tortured? For the past twelve years I have been trying to sort this out. It seems like an easy concept. A painter paints...right? That's at least what I thought. But, as I moved further into it all the questions started to come up... What subjects should I paint? What are the most meaningful subjects to me? Why are they meaningful. In a world with the camera, why paint? Since all art is done, why paint? Once I settled mostly on people as a subject, more questions arose. What people? Should they look a certain way? Should they be dressed or nude? Should they be floating in space? In a landscape? Or a world of make-believe? What positions should they be in? Why? What looks portray emotions? Then it became worse. If you paint in landscape should the figures be painted in contemporary settings or costumes? Should the backgrounds be in harmony with the figures or in contrast? Then it become even more complicated... What kind of paint? There are books of paint recipies of the "old masters". Should I try them all before deciding? Paint with round, flat, liner, fan, blending brushes or my fingers? And then issues of themes and of consistency. So finally I made some decisions. I believe art is in the choices we make. Art is the experience of sorting the questions out. My paintings have been in search of answers to these questions. So after twelve years I have decided on a few answers. Past work will show you my choices. Now I feel I am ready to begin. Innocence and Beauty : Classical Oil : Minimal Background : Mostly Nude |
