Dear Artist, Yesterday, a friend phoned and brought my attention to a study done at the Harvard Medical Center. It seems that nurture, not nature, is the big factor in the making of creative genius. Talent and genius are not…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Diana Miller-Pierce of Fort Wayne, Indiana wrote, “As a professional artist and practicing psychotherapist I’m particularly interested in the healing aspects of art. I hear from my clients a yearning to create in some manner. I’m wondering…
Dear Artist, The activities of most plants and animals are timed to the cycle of day and night. These natural rhythms are called circadian rhythms. The most obvious example is the sleep cycle. As well, many plants and animals are…
Dear Artist, On Wednesday this week — it may have been the phase of the moon — there were so many questions in the inbox that I buckled under and lost it. Don’t get me wrong — I love being…
Dear Artist, Yesterday morning, Denise called at my studio. Denise is a “vest-pocket” dealer — she works from her home and her cell-phone. Along with her goofy Doberman “Sabre” Denise always has a few paintings in her Ford Windstar. She…
Dear Artist, Depending on your point of view, he was either one of the world’s most important painters, or the original amateur. J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851) influenced many artists, particularly the impressionists. (Monet and Pissarro were knocked over by…
Dear Artist, On Easter Sunday, Pete Rose (not The Pete Rose) came into my studio and looked at the 36″ x 30″ on my easel. “Where’s that?” he asked. “Nowhere,” I said, “It’s a veduta ideata.” Puzzlement flickered across his…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Catherine Jo Morgan of Clarkesville, GA, wrote, “As soon as I finish a piece, it has a gallery eagerly waiting to receive it. Whoosh. I photograph and ship it. Big checks are coming in regularly from galleries selling…
Dear Artist, In a recent clickback, a letter from George Trabert of Walnut Creek, California brought our attention to the “Stance of the Matador.” Transferred from the bull-ring to the way an artist might address an easel — like a…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Kelly Borsheim of Cedar Creek, Texas, wrote, “I’ve been struggling with a large acrylic ramp, or gradation. I was striving for no blotches and no brush marks. I’ve really been having difficulty touching up, because I’ve not…