Dear Artist, Yesterday, Colleen O’Brien wrote, “I was meeting with a client last night and a question came up regarding hanging artwork over a new fireplace. One of the builders said to never hang art above a fireplace as it…
Dear Artist, I’m crouched on a stack of easels with eleven other painters on the top of a snow-clad mountain waiting for a thumping Bell 212 helicopter to rise away in a swirl of whiteout. At times like this, thoughts…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Robert Isler Wanka of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada wrote, “I’d like to see my work move toward saying something about this century and our civilization. In other words, deeper considerations rather than just pretty pictures. With the sundering…
Dear Artist, The “literary colour” of a decent cigar is some sort of brown. On close examination, this Cuban I’ve been looking at for two years, thinking about smoking, and resisting, has a “local colour” of raw umber with traces…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Jane Wilcoxson of Oswego, IL wrote, “I find it difficult to sit at an easel and work. My legs, back, neck and arms ache. Should I just stop complaining and take a few painkillers? I tend to…
Dear Artist, Some of us, mature and otherwise, beg daily for greater foolery. Others, beginners included, often feel that’s what we’re doing anyway. This letter is about the business of fooling around as a vital part of the creative process.…
Dear Artist, Seven Days in the Art World, by Sarah Thornton, gives a chapter each to seven venues: “The Auction” takes us to Christie’s in London — an inside look at who bids and who gets what, and why, and…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Cedar Lee of Ellicott City, MD, wrote, “I have a 10-month-old son. Before I had this child I never realized the level of freedom and time that I had. The demands are so all-consuming that they leave…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Todd Butt of Trenton, Ohio wrote, “A local group is opening an art studio building in the next town. They need about thirty artists to rent studios and they are planning to have a Friday opening each…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Caroline Planting wrote, “I’m packing to attend a residency at the Vermont Studio Center. It’s a bit scary, thinking about what I’ll do with all the time in the world for two weeks, just painting. Even packing…