Dear Artist, This morning, Anne Pridmore of Mentone, Australia wrote, “I’m a painter of the Australian landscape. I no longer want to just “copy” what I see. Rather, I want to find a personal interpretation of the land. I’ve had…
Dear Artist, Abulia is the high-priced word for lack of willpower. While generally referred to as the blockage of initiative due to a head injury resulting in brain damage, it also applies to the lackadaisical attitude that sometimes arises in…
Dear Artist, I’m laptopping you from M.V. Mareva, near Chatterbox Falls, at the head of Princess Louisa Inlet on Canada’s west coast. Surrounded by the glaciated walls of sky-scraping mountains, it’s a wonder that we’re getting satellite service in here.…
Dear Artist, A recent book, Cancer and the Art of Healing co-written by Dr. Marilyn Hundleby and Sherry Abbott, catalogues a variety of activities — painting, singing, writing, photography, journaling, quilting, etc., that have positive effects on patients. “Art helps…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Cyndie Katz of New Boston, NH, USA, asked, “What do you say to people who are acrylic snobs? One of the oil painters who is in a show with me said that it might not be a…
Dear Artist, There are three methods of working that can genuinely enhance the overall quality of an artist’s performance. I call them “The Three Amigos.” Working on location Working from reference Working from imagination Working on location: By inhaling the…
Dear Artist, Leonardo da Vinci’s life was a living demo of his “seven virtues.” For those artists of life and of art who might plot to develop higher levels of accomplishment and greater self-realization, here are his seven virtues, as…
Dear Artist, Last night, my friend Bern Will Brown dropped by. Bern’s 86 now, but he’s still going strong. He’s spent the last 44 years in Colville Lake (pop. 100), an isolated outpost that is way up in Canada’s far…