Dear Artist, In ceramics, there is always the kiln. Half-baked and half-made, the objects enter the kiln in slips of brown and grey. Later, after the Gods of Fire have had their way, they emerge ultramarine, ruby, golden. They appear…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Elizabeth Lasley of Asheville, NC, wrote, “I’m amazed that commercial galleries treat their customers as if they’re in a museum. They say “hi” and not much more. They don’t need to act like used car salespeople, but…
Dear Artist, Lately I’ve been studying the plight of several painters who claim to be having a “crisis of confidence.” All of them began painting in their youth, sold work in their teens, had at least one hyper-critical parent, enjoyed…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Megan Moore of Missoula, Montana, USA, wrote, “A show of my portraits began recently at the local museum. On the first day darkness peered into my heart and has since grown larger, looming in the form of,…
Dear Artist, Two painters played chess on a foggy Friday. “Decisions, decisions, it’s like painting — one damn thing after the other,” said my opponent, twirling the hair on the back of his head and tinkling the ice in his…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Judy Singer of Toronto, Ontario, wrote, “I’ve been an artist for 36 years and taught at York University for 30 years. I now give workshops in my studio. I’m often asked for advice about how to get…
Dear Artist, People often ask me what it takes to be noticed. One recent email asked if animal flesh hanging off a canvas was okay in a series against animal cruelty. Another writer told me she was making her canvases…
Dear Artist, In the bar attached to the Legazpi Restaurant at Las Hadas in Manzanillo, Mexico, there are murals. Loose oil sketches painted directly onto rough, lightly-toned plaster, they are the work of the Spanish painter Fernando Calderon. Depicting dreamlike…
Dear Artist, The distinctive creak of a bicycle coming to a stop behind me gave an unexpected jerk to my brush. Sandals shuffled on the flinty stones — then a pause. It was a long silence, even for a place…