Dear Artist, My twin, James, and I hugged the winding road into Topanga Canyon and hit the trailhead with a couple of film friends. In the snug of the montane chaparral – today a June gloom cloud forest – we…
Dear Artist, Vincent van Gogh died in 1890. Theo van Gogh, art dealer and brother of Vincent, died six months later, in 1891. Johanna, Theo’s wife, inherited all the shop remainders including virtually all of Vincent’s work. She soon moved…
Dear Artist, A friend’s high schooler recently mentioned she was working on a still life assignment. “What are you doing?” I asked. “I’ve only just started,” she replied. Without a beat, I blurted a rhapsody of how she might go…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Rich Woy of Ocala, Florida asked, “How do you know when a painting is overworked? Are there boundaries or clues? Is this judgment left to the artist or the critic?” Thanks, Rich. Good question. Funnily, at dinner…
Dear Artist, While painting and listening to my sister-in-law, Tamara’s podcast recently, American tech consultant Sara Wachter-Boettcher laid out the symptoms of burnout: “An increased sense of depersonalization – feeling distant from people or maybe yourself; exhaustion, foggy brain.” Referencing…
Dear Artist, Heuristic (pronounced hyu-RIS-tik) comes from the Greek heuriskein meaning “to discover.” The heuristic process means achieving some desired result by intelligent guesswork rather than by systematic formula. Generally used in the fields of invention, computer science, psychology and…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Canadian art dealer Joshua Peters sent a letter to friends and patrons of his gallery: “I never thought I would have to say this because it’s so fundamental, but ethics matter. We all know this and we’re…
Dear Artist, Whenever I offer tips to fellow artists I’m aware that a tip may be valuable to one person and a poison pill to another. Lately, on the speaking circuit, I’ve been giving a little talk I call, “Two…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, while hanging out in my studio with some fellow travellers, we got worked up about squinting. We agreed it is one of the most important things we do. “Squinting demands a twice-weekly letter on its own,” someone…