Dear Artist, Yesterday, I was asked, “I would like to hear your thoughts and those of other artists on the topic of our “body of work.” What happens to it after our demise? How do artists deal with this issue? It…
Dear Artist, One of the interesting things about Ed Hughes is the deal he cut with his dealer fifty years ago. The dealer was Max Stern of Montreal’s Dominion Gallery. Ed lives in a bungalow on the west coast of…
Dear Artist, The twice-weekly responses to these letters give a good idea of what’s on the minds of a world of artists. The ultimate in artist statements, they are first-person slices; honest, true to life. They are remarkably free of…
Dear Artist, In my last letter I touched on the idea that your vocabulary might be responsible for personal happiness, effectiveness or creativity. Could it be possible that we are formed by the words we use? For example, might the…
Dear Artist, My last letter about different types of happiness jingled the studio inbox pretty steadily on Tuesday. For example, Bob Young of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, wrote, “I know by experience that art-making is a conduit to something higher than…
Dear Artist, Psychologist Martin Seligman has determined three levels of happiness — what he calls the pleasant life, the good life and the meaningful life. We all know the types. The pleasant-lifers seem to automatically feel good. They clown around…
Dear Artist, My doctor once told me that in order to give up cigars I had to replace them with something. His recommendations were surfing, cycling and snowboarding. Yesterday I was talking on the phone with an old friend and…
Dear Artist, I’m writing this letter in the full knowledge that I may be giving totally the wrong advice. While I was still in Cuba Sonja Strausz asked, “I am having trouble writing a CV. Is there perhaps a guideline…
Dear Artist, A bus sits idling and cannot find its driver. A few ancient automobiles avoid the potholes. Workers shuffle. The hotel rooms are not yet ready, and when they are there are no towels. When the coffee comes, it’s…
Dear Artist, Artists present a problem for the Cuban socialist bureaucracy. Down here artists are characterized as “independent manufacturers.” In a quota-based economy the creative spirit, artistic effort and output are difficult to quantify. Take Fernando Luiz. He’s a 32-year-old…