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Newsflash: Art is, in fact, a ‘real job’.

4/2/2019

One day about ten years ago I was on my way to work (I think this must’ve been the radio station, or the bank, I forget) after I’d gotten out of art school. I don’t remember why, but I stopped at a Pancake House where I ran into one of my (literally) old Fine Arts professors (God rest him). After I’d greeted him he was all

‘So, what are you doing now?’
‘Working, Sir.’
‘Of course, you would be.’

—which was as much as to say, ‘Of course you have a ‘real job’—your paintings suck, so you need one.’

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Yes! I choose to fight! And here’s why you should fight for your art, too.

3/16/2019

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So after asking, and asking, and asking—I finally got me a show. Thank You, God. Thank you Dear Mama Mary. Thank you, Dear Saint Jude, Dear Saint Rita, Dear Saint Philomena. Dear Saint Claire, Dear Saint Matthew, Dear Saint Joseph. Thank you, Dear Saint Dymphna.

You know, I was told once back in school that you can pray all day long to pass the exams but if you don’t study… so I’m a big believer in ‘God helps those who help themselves’. But I’m just as big a believer in ‘you can plan and help yourself all you want, but unless God gives you the green light, then’…

Having said that, I really am just so very grateful!

But yes, I finally did get a show, and it really was a miracle because you know, galleries usually are booked a year in advance. So this, and the last one I was able to sneak into as a guest artist (‘not really a show’, but still) really were, literally, heaven-sent.

There really was a lot of asking involved, though, and that’s what I want to talk about today, mainly because of two things I’ve seen recently.

One was an episode of that online self-help show (‘help themselves’, remember?) where the host interviewed this famous writer who said he didn’t start making any money from his writing until he was well into his 50’s. Even now (even with all his best-selling books), he said he still has trouble getting projects off the ground, or even support from people close to him.

The other one I saw was an article about how this now super famous pop star had a Facebook page put up by her haters back in uni saying how she was never going to be famous, ever.

That singer told about how she started out living in the cheapest apartment she could find. The article described how she really put herself out there writing songs for other people and all that other stuff in the background before things started happening for her. When she made the acceptance speech for her award in the end, she said in a nutshell that it is a lot of hard work.

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Can’t stand them? Can they stand you? Get pointers for getting along with artists, here.

2/27/2019

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Back at my first job, which was at an ad agency, I remember getting back to my cluster of cubicles one afternoon to find the cubicles across from mine in utter disarray. Chairs were upended with castors rolling in the air, paper flying every which where, and in the middle of that maelstrom was one of the creative directors.

I remember one of the secretaries leaning in to whisper, ‘Because he’s creative…’ Like that little phrase explained everything, like ‘being creative’ gave one the licence to throw a destructive hissy fit in the office.

I remember thinking to myself, ‘Well that ain’t right…’ I mean I was ‘creative’, but I didn’t think I’d get away with behaviour like that. Maybe because the guy was a big-shot CD and I was just a lowly newbie writer who was just happy to be there.

In any case, that incident stayed with me because I remember thinking that I didn’t want to be like that.

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The Best Laid Plans: 5 Things to Consider When Planning an Exhibit

1/27/2019

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Okay, so this is me writing about something I ought to be doing right about now (indeed, something I should’ve been doing late last year)—and God willing, I will be. But having done this more than a dozen times before, hopefully gives me enough to share on the subject of how to go about planning a set or a series of works, or for a show.

Again, I can really only speak from my own experience because I’m well aware that what works for one artist may not necessarily work for another. There’s no single, correct way when it comes to creation, I think (although red + yellow will never be green, I think, no matter how much of either you mix in).

Some people are averse to planning, and would much rather just ‘let it flow’. Me being the control freak I am, I tend to plan, not just because I’m a control freak but also because I have limited resources—time and energy being the most limited of all. So, I just like to try and make the most of them.

I do like to ‘figure things out when I get there’ while I’m working (because that’s… the fun part) and there are some things, I think, you really can’t pre-figure out, otherwise. But for me I do that sort of ‘on the fly’ stuff within a prepared structure. (Control freak, remember?) And also, there are other things you can’t plan, because, well, life happens.

That said, here are five things to consider when planning for an exhibit or creating a series of works—at least, the things I’ve had to consider, in general.

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Still can’t think of something to paint? Get thinking techniques here.

12/26/2018

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One of the gazillion nice things about art (or about people, if you like) is how no two artists (or people) think alike. It always used to amaze me back at art school how a bunch of people could be sitting in front of the same flowers or fruit or model and still come up with different things. Nobody ever painted or drew the subject in exactly the same way.

The thought process behind the production of art is different for everybody. There’s no, single, ‘correct’ way, if you will, to think of what to paint. In taking off from my previous entry on how reflecting on why you’re painting can help you come up with something to paint, this entry zeroes in on the actual how to think of something.

Like I said, even if you’re twins or very much in love, no two people are ever going to think exactly alike or conceptualise exactly the same painting. (Okay I take back the latter, as there may be grandfathered exceptions I am unaware of.)

So all I can offer here is how I go about it, in the hopes that it might give you some idea of how you could go about it, too. Especially if (continuing again from where my previous post left off), you’re doing No.13: You’re painting because you have a show.

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Don’t Know WHAT to Paint? Ask Yourself WHY.

11/29/2018

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Art is a mind game—so much of what happens when people make things takes place in their heads, even before any paint touches the paper or canvas. And like most things people can’t see, it’s much easier to look past them and to get caught up in the tangible.

A lot of people I’ve talked to over the years have said that they have trouble even just thinking of what to paint. And I’ve often replied that yes, thinking of what to paint is actually the hardest thing about the whole, thing—once you’ve gotten all that pesky ‘conceptualisation’ and planning out of the way, the rest is ‘just mechanics’.

(I mean of course it ISN’T, as ‘the mechanics’ are a whole different ballgame, but, you knew what I meant, I hope.)

In any case, I’ve given the matter a fair amount of thought and I think it all boils down to answering one simple question.

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Why You Might Choose the Path of an Artist

10/28/2018

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Call it mid-life crisis, I suppose. As I write this, I’m in the middle of a forcible removal of myself from, well, everything, going on at the moment, which has given me a little time to think about where I am, where I’ve been and where I’m going next.

And seeing that this is what I project to be the first in a series of, ‘scribbles’ for anybody who might be interested in my work, or might be into (or planning to get into) art as a career (or as something to do because bungee-jumping wasn’t exactly their thing), well, I thought I might do a little ‘scribbling out loud’ on the subject.

I mean about why anybody might choose to do what a lot of people consider quite useless or impractical or just plain weird. Why anybody might choose to do something that doesn’t always lead to fame or fortune (although when it does, boy does it ever) and has most everyone you know looking at you funny because you don’t go to work in a high-rise in a suit.

Nobody likes to be looked at funny (well, generally, anyway), and I reckon everybody likes to be, well, accepted and to have people have a good opinion of them. 'Oh, he’s got a good job' or 'Oh, he’s vice president now' or 'Oh, she’s got a lovely three-year-old.' People who do what I do don’t always get that.

More often than not, we don’t, and derision (polite or otherwise) is just something we have to live with (unless you’re one of us who hits the big time and buys a car or a condo with every painting sold). So why do we. Why would you? Are we masochists? Maybe.

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Forward>>

Newsflash: Art is, in fact, a ‘real job’.

Yes! I choose to fight! And here’s why you should fight for your art, too.

Can’t stand them? Can they stand you? Get pointers for getting along with artists, here.

The Best Laid Plans: 5 Things to Consider When Planning an Exhibit

Still can’t think of something to paint? Get thinking techniques here.

Don’t Know WHAT to Paint? Ask Yourself WHY.

Why You Might Choose the Path of an Artist

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