Dear Artist, In times of reasonable painting I often ask myself where my confidence comes from. Why is it that some days this goddess merely appears, seemingly unbidden, while other days I have to work hard to get a glimpse…
Dear Artist, Andrew and Debra Veal started rowing their 23-foot plywood boat across the Atlantic. After 13 days, suffering a panic attack, Andrew bailed out. That left Debra to go it alone. The 3000 mile journey that was supposed to…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, my studio computer jingled with a question that concerns a lot of us. Antonia Mitchell wrote, “While I’m an established artist, I still have a problem. I’m continually compelled to experiment with different forms of art. When…
Dear Artist, In the good old days, students in art schools were provided with simple plaster forms. The sphere, pyramid and cube were the basics. Subjected to various types of light, simple drawing skills were tested and developed, the subtleties…
Dear Artist, The last letter was about calculated carelessness — this one’s about calculated naivete. “Naive,” or “primitive art,” according to arts writer Linda Murray, means “untrained artists in a sophisticated society.” According to Murray it’s “an unspoiled vision consistent…
Dear Artist, The Italians have a name for it — Sprezzatura — studied carelessness — works apparently done without effort. In the Italian High Renaissance, courtiers and artists alike wanted to put on a kind of performance, a subtle one,…
Dear Artist, Scrabbling around in mountains is good for you. Among other things, I’m having occasional bouts of lucidity. For instance, I just discovered the “truth.” I’m realizing that an artist’s own creative truth is really all that matters. Up…
Dear Artist, In 1912, Marcel Duchamp took a urinal, signed it R. Mutt and put it in an art gallery. Some at the time called it art — most everybody else thought it was — a urinal. As we speak,…
Dear Artist, “It’s a rough mountain pathway of boulders and roots, Where the greatest of joys is a good pair of boots.” I’m writing to you from the Tonquin Valley Trail near Jasper, Alberta, Canada. Three days walking, two nights…
Dear Artist, I’m still in Toronto. Visiting a group show. Crowded. Abstract. Realism. Artbabble. Artspeak. I’m cruising edgemanship. Edges can be hard or soft. Softness promotes mystery and magic while a hard edge prepares the mind for precision and potential…