Dear Artist, “Male Answer Syndrome” (MAS) is the tendency among men to give answers to questions whether they know anything about the subject or not, particularly when in the presence of women. The idea was first written about by Jane…
Dear Artist, Recently I’ve been looking into the business of perfectionism among painters. It seems to me most artists have a mild version of the condition. I’m also seeing a kind of obsessive perfectionism that really holds some artists back.…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Roberta Henry of La Paz, Mexico wrote about an unusual charitable event. She was requested to donate a painting to be included in a raffle. Ten “high-end” items were to be raffled, and then a further draw…
Dear Artist, This coming September we’re planning a unique painting trip: Three days high in the Rocky Mountains. Using a remote lodge as a base, we’re going to have a helicopter at our disposal. I’m doing it together with mountain…
Dear Artist, Folks are always sending me lists. A born-again list-lover, I admit, I’m a list junkie. In a way, a list is like a chorus of microbes — they may make you itch with the need to get cracking.…
Dear Artist, When you paint you are using two distinct areas of your brain. One is the up front, active brain known to neurologists as “task positive.” This is where you try to paint well, get the anatomy right, master…
Dear Artist, Andy Warhol figured everyone was now going to get their fifteen minutes of fame. Courting celebrities and his own celebrity, he needed more time at it than that. J.D. Salinger wrote a novel and a few short stories…
Dear Artist, You may have noticed the roar of applause when the orchestra plays what the audience already knows. It’s not rocket science to understand that folks are not applauding Tchaikovsky’s genius but their own ability to recognize his tune…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Maro Lorimer of Anna Maria Island, Florida wrote, “As tax time approaches, do you think artists who sell very little work are better off treating their art as a hobby (claiming no expenses and reporting no income)…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, I received an angry email from a New Jersey painter who wants to remain anonymous: “All this talk about joy, magic and inspiration is not worth a damn if no one is buying,” he wrote. “Two of…