Dear Artist, Like a lot of artists, I don’t read a lot of novels. I think it has something to do with not releasing yourself to another person’s imagination. But this Christmas a good one came along: An Object of…
Dear Artist, I was in the garage searching for last year’s car antlers when Joe Blodgett pulled into the driveway. “You need to write a letter based on your subscribers,” he said. “They’re a pretty generous bunch.” He was bearing Scotch…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Clyde Steadman of Denver, Colorado wrote, “Recently I went to an opening by one of my favorite artists. Three or four of the paintings were absolutely top notch. Most of the rest didn’t rise to the same…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, John Dinan of Cross, Mayo, Ireland wrote, “I earn my living from my paintings so, like any skilled worker, I’m entitled to some reward for my labour. But I have a problem. Every so often I ask…
Dear Artist, Like most of us, I’m always looking for new ways to work, for new systems and processes that might put a different spin on things. Funnily, assembly line time-and-motion studies by management experts can be useful to an…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Sandra Marucci Weisenhoff of the Merrimack Valley, MA, wrote, “What about keeping one’s best work back until a truly great body of work is built? Good works tend to sell in juried shows, club sales, etc., thereby…
Dear Artist, Having spent the afternoon in the Picasso show at the Seattle Art Museum, I’m laptopping you from a quiet café near First and Spring. Right now I’m digesting those Picassos along with a nice set of Samish Bay oysters.…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Brian Crawford Young of Inverness, Scotland, wrote, “I’ve been having a crisis since I got back from a wonderful residency at the Art Students’ League, Vytlacil Campus in Rockland County, New York. The ambience was great, the…
Dear Artist, After noting the tendency of kindergarten kids to keep pushing paint until their images were destroyed, Susan Marx of Orange, N.J., wrote, “You raise an important question. How do you know when to stop? If the best result…