Dear Artist, When the stock market, home values and car sales tank, innovation soars. “Innovation,” says W. Chan Kim of the World Economic Forum, “goes up when the economy goes down.” Not just for now, but always. In 1969 when…
Dear Artist, A recent Canadian study of the annual incomes of visual artists might have implications for other countries. The results are a shock to many. The study was based on research by Michael Maranda, an assistant curator at the…
Dear Artist, The two main types of eccentricity are “genuine” and “phony.” If you’re sensitized to human nature, you’ll find excellent examples of both types among your friends. Then there’s the grey area where some folks start out phony and…
Dear Artist, One of the best ways to engage a viewer is with hard and soft edges. California painter Virgil Elliott explains a variety of Old Master illusions in his book Traditional Oil Painting: Advanced Techniques from the Renaissance to the…
Dear Artist, A few emails have arrived lately from artists asking about the sudden appearance of vanity galleries in their areas. Vanity galleries levy a fee to each of their artists or for each piece exhibited. As most of these…
Dear Artist, While bumping around in a jumbled bookshop in Highgate, North London, I found an early copy of John Collier’s Manual of Oil Painting. Published in 1886, it’s a small book of 112 pages with nary a picture, but…
Dear Artist, Not long ago the popular business coach John Di Lemme broadcast a simple idea that applies to anyone wishing to succeed. It goes like this: “I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.…
Dear Artist, A group mailing arrived here yesterday. A young friend was asking for donations so he could quit his day job and get serious about painting. I told him to keep me informed of his impending cash flow. His…
Dear Artist, While reading Denis Dutton’s The Art Instinct, I learned that predominantly blue paintings indulge my primordial tendencies and satisfy my inner Neanderthal. I was glad to hear this as I’ve been using a lot of it lately, mostly…