Living here in Corpus Christi, three and a half hours away from the nearest art museum of import, my primary source of art exposure has been from books.  The internet is better for finding contemporary artists, when you're looking for new artists you haven't yet seen.  But often, when trying to look at an artist's work on the internet, you'll find that the pictures are of poor quality, or the work available to look at is limited.  Some artists maintain a strong internet presence, but others don't.

Of course, while you sometimes get better quality pictures in books, a larger range of works, and more information on the artist, books aren't without their own issues.  For one, they're expensive; the nicer ones can be in the triple digits.  If you have a good library nearby, with a nice collection, that can be nice, but actually owning them is better in my opinion.  Personally, I have to rely on used book stores, or buying them used online.

But even then, not all art books are created equal, and when you're shopping online, it becomes really difficult to figure out if a book is good or not.  It doesn't happen so much anymore, but a lot of art books used to be printed with black and white photos.  I don't understand it, what's the point of an art book if the art isn't even in color?  But they used to do it a lot, and it's something you have to watch out for when you're buying used art books.  Also, some of the older art books are printed on poorer quality paper, that doesn't take detail or color as well.  The images don't turn out blurry.  They just aren't as crisp, and the color is desaturated to an extent.  And then, even when these problems aren't present, sometimes you get books that marginalize the pictures in favor of the text.  I personally prefer quality, full page images.  Some books don't include any of these, giving you half page images at the largest.

When you're looking at the book at a bookstore, it's easy to pick out these flaws, but you don't have that luxury when buying online.  If you're lucky there will be a lot of reviews that you can reference.  If the images are in black and white, or the paper quality is lacking, they'll note it.  However, it's been my experience that they won't clue you in to a lack of full page images.  I guess it's the difference between what an artist wants and what an art fan wants.  Most positive reviews I see tend to focus on the quality of the information, and the quality of the images.  And upon receiving the book, I find that what they said is true, but the images are small.  The best solution I have for this, is to stick to large sized books only.  Sizes of less than 12 inches tall are just too small, in my opinion.

One of the other issues you can run into with books, is availability.  Sometimes you just have trouble finding books on an artist, even when looking online.  I had this issue when looking for books on Rothko, someone I'd have thought was famous enough to have some quality publications.  In this case, I've found the internet to be more useful.  For a well known artist, a search on google images will generally give you plenty to look at.

However, books or internet, neither compares to seeing the work in person.  Reproductions just aren't quite the same.  The color is never a perfect match.  The shade is off, the saturation is off, even the tint.  I've seen paintings that were plain in a book, that were great in person, and vice versa.  Those of you that live near a major art museum, that has an extensive permanent collection, and regular shows coming through, should be thankful for and make use of the resource.

Now, why is all of this important?  Influence.  It's very important for an artist.  In fact, it was the go to teaching point of my first painting professor.  Looking at the works of other talented artists, does a lot for an artist.  It inspires, creates ideas, and teaches.  It sets a bar for where you want your own work to be.  In a void, without any influence, it's more difficult to improve.  Sometimes, the influence of a particular artist is easy to see.  But, sometimes, even after having an artist tell you that so-and-so was a big influence, you can't see how.  It can be ephemeral and abstract in nature.  But it is important.

When it comes to books, for an artist, art books aren't the only useful literature.  There are some good informative books on creating art.  You'll occasionally see threads asking for these books on forums.  And it's a common question when interviewing an artist to ask what their favorite book is.  The titles you hear lauded by multiple artists are usually worth owning.  Here's a list of the ones I've found.

Color and Light, by James Gurney.

Problem Solving for Oil Painters, by Gregg Kreutz.

The Artist's Handbook, by Ralph Mayer.

Alla Prima II, by Richard Schmid.

He's an amazing painter.  The painting in the banner above is his most famous painting, "Christina's World", flanked by portraits of him at different stages of his life.  I've loved him since I first saw his work when I was learning to paint, and I've found that I'm not alone.  In the artist interviews I've listened to, I've heard a number of very successful and skillful painters list Andrew Wyeth as an influence, someone they admire, with a skill that transcends anything they feel they could accomplish themselves.  He's able to capture so much atmosphere and emotion, with such mundane content and so few colors.

My opinion on realism in painting the last few years has been this: it serves no purpose; it's an antiquated style that once had purpose, before the invention of the modern day camera, but that has now become no more than a masturbatory show of technical skill.  I don't see realist paintings very often, but when I do, its typically a landscape, portrait or urban scene.  And they don't really look any different than a photograph.  You'd have to look closely to tell that it isn't a photograph.  And on paintings of this kind, my opinion stands.  You may as well just take a photograph.  The photograph wouldn't impress anyone with your level of technical skill the way a painting would, but it would be able to do everything else the painting does.

I feel that this kind of approach to painting ignores what the medium has to offer.  Painting gives you the chance to draw more out of your subject.  More beauty, more emotion, more intensity, whatever you desire.  So why just make it look like a photograph?

However, that doesn't mean that realism has no place in contemporary art.  And I hadn't really thought about it much, until I realized that Andrew Wyeth's work would be considered realism.  And his work most definitely has a place in the contemporary art world.  But, he isn't simply mimicking a photograph.  He's capturing a moment, the feeling of that moment, the peacefulness, loneliness and entropy that surrounded him.  And it's beautiful.

There is also the approach of depicting unrealistic subject matter, realistically.  For example: a fantastical dream scene; a crowded rally, protesting short people, but everyone is blue, as a commentary on racism and human nature; a busy urban street scene and sidewalk, seemingly a photo-realistic mimic, but with something intentionally off or wrong somewhere, to jar the viewer's sensibilities or perception.  This was the only application of the style that I felt held merit, before I considered Wyeth.  I've been told there's currently a movement of painters doing this, but I'm not familiar with any of them.  I'd consider exploring these ideas myself, but I don't currently have the necessary technical skill to pull it off.

If you have an argument against this opinion, some other insight into the value of realism, or recommendation for an artist I should look at, I'd like to hear about it.

Edit: You know what, I lied.  I realized after going through my links for artists to post to tumblr, I do know a couple of artists that would be considered to be within that movement.  Odd Nerdrum, and Lui Liu.

It's a problem for me in more ways that one.  For instance, I'm running out of ideas for topics on this blog, lol.  If you have any ideas on topics you'd like to see, I'd love to hear them.

But my primary issue is a lack of inspiration in regards to content within my paintings.  I spoke about this some a few weeks ago.  I recently wasted a week or so staring at a piece I'm working on, trying to figure out where I want to go with it.  I've had a few ideas, tried them, erased them.  And so it still currently sits in the same half-finished state it did two weeks ago. (Gold/Yellow and Blue Gray painting with figure)

To get myself moving forward again, I took a couple of canvases that I'd started previously and abandoned, and just started putting down color to cover what was there previously, with the intention of using this color as background for a new painting.  Both turned out well.  They should make an interesting base for a new painting.  That is, if I could figure out what to put on them,.lol.

The proverbial muse eludes me.  I envy those artists that have such clarity of purpose.  I've heard a fair amount of advice on the subject of inspiration.  But, my thought process and interests seem to differ from that of the typical artist, to an extent that renders said advice no more than anecdotal at this point.  I have heard a couple of artists speak of a method they use that involves letting the painting build itself, escape from within them; that they don't know what's going to happen when they begin.  It was something they had to learn to do.  It's a concept that really appeals to me, but I don't know how to make that happen.

All I have here are questions and problems, no solutions, unfortunately.

Color quality/saturation is very poor in these camera phone pics, but they at least give the general idea.

I've discussed this topic once before already.  I don't think it's the most interesting topic, but that last post had the most replies out of all the ones I've done so far, so what do I know, lol.

After perusing the options available at Lowes, I found that I only have two options available that I consider worthwhile.  I could explore other lumber stores in the area, but it's unlikely I'd find any other options, so it isn't something I was to spend energy on at the moment.  I'll explore these options first.

The first option, is cradled hardboard.  Hardboard is thin, 3/16".  I would need to build a frame to attach it to, to keep it from warping, basically the same thing you'd build to stretch canvas over.  The advantage to this option is the gallery look the cradling offers.  It wouldn't need to be framed.  The hardboard is cheap, but the wood for cradling isn't.  I'd be looking at around $9 per prepared surface in cost.

The second option, is to buy a thick board of a fine grain wood, and paint on that.  Based on available options, I can either buy a 4' x 8' piece of maple, or a 2' x 4' piece of birch.  These would have a different atmosphere to them than the cradled hardboard.  They'd have more weight, both literally and metaphorically.  The cost here is around $7 per prepared surface.

I did look into the outdoor rated MDF board I spoke about last time, but they don't carry it.  And, after looking into it more, it's outside my price range.  I'd be looking at close to $100 per 4' x 8' sheet.

Naturally, I went with the cheapest option, which is the 2' x 4' piece of birch.  it's big enough to create three surfaces to test out.  I opted to have them cut the board for me, as I don't own my own saw, and it seemed convenient.  This was unfortunately a mistake.  Their saw is large, and doesn't make a fine cut.  It splintered the edge of the board on one side, which I had to file down and sand.  If I like these surfaces and make more, I'll definitely be doing my own cutting in the future.

The reading I've done on preparing these boards has told me I need to seal them.  Either Killz sealant or GAC100 are the sealants I've seen recommended multiple times.  I'm unfamiliar with both, but I picked up some Killz to use.  I doubt this choice is really that important.  I imagine any sealant would work, as long as it doesn't create a surface the gesso will have trouble adhering to.  The Killz I picked up is unfortunately white, not clear.  I wanted clear, so that the wood grain would show through on the sides and back.  I think it looks nicer.  So for now, I used a different clear sealant that I had a bit left of on the back, and used the Killz on the front side, where the gesso goes.

For anyone who doesn't know what gesso is, it's the base coat material put down to use as the painting surface.  Traditionally, it was made of rabbit skin glue.  Very stinky, and becomes brittle over time, which causes cracks.  Nowadays, we have more elastic materials to use.  I currently have a gallon of acrylic gesso, and am using that.  When I finish that off, I may try my hand at homemade gesso.  It would be cheaper.  A typical recipe only requires some pva glue, some plaster, and water.

Most painters typically do between three and five layers of gesso, sanding between each layer, to desired smoothness.  The gesso acts not only as a surface, but also as a barrier to the oils from the paint.  It keeps the oil from seeping into the material of the surface.  It can rot away canvas, and likely would cause rot or swelling if it got into wood.  I think 5 coats is excessive.  I'll probably do two or three myself.

One thing about the gesso I need to look into more, involves board warping.  one of the problems with painting on board, is that it can warp, i.e. start to curl.  You want it to stay flat.  A common practice is to attach the board to a frame to hold it rigid.  Another is to gesso both sides of the board, which prevents it from warping.  One thing I'm unclear on, is if I need to do that for a board as thick as the one I bought.

I guess that's about it on this for now.  All that's left is to create some paintings, and see how the finished product turns out.  Once I'm done with these, I might try some of the other options.  Surely you've given up on reading this by now, out of sheer boredom, right?  lol

It's what most artists listen to while they're working.  Some prefer classical, or instrumental, without words, because it doesn't occupy their mind while they work.  It just sets an atmosphere.  Others prefer the opposite, because they want their minds occupied, so that their hands can work more instinctually, without their thoughts getting in the way.

Some of us don't listen to music at all.  For artists who prefer their mind to be occupied, even better options have developed over the last several years.  Podcasts.

For anyone who doesn't know what a podcast is, think of it as a talk radio show.  Only, instead of being on the radio, it's on the internet.  They record the show, then post it for people to listen to.  You can go to their website and listen to it, or you can use a podcast manager to subscribe to their feed.  Itunes can do this, as can many other programs, such as BeyondPod on Android devices.  This grants you on demand audio to listen to.  It's like Netflix, but for talk radio.

It's too bad it isn't as easy as Netflix though.  These podcasts are spread across the internet, and you have to find them.  But, every year there are more and more to find, spanning all kinds of imaginable topics.  Unfortunately, art podcasts are few and far between.  Which isn't really all that surprising, considering the visual barrier it presets.  It's difficult to talk about art, when you're limited to an audio product only, and can't look at the various things you'd normally talk about.

But, that doesn't mean they can't be found:

The Savvy Painter Podcast - This is my current favorite.  Artist Antrese Wood interviews other artists.  It's interesting hearing how other artist's careers have progressed, and what they consider important.

Artists Helping Artists Podcast - This one also does interviews, but doesn't focus on them.  The marketing side of art is often discussed.

Advance Your Art Podcast - This one focuses on interviews, but doesn't revolve around the visual arts.  Film-makers, dancers, writers, anything considered creative is on the table.

Art Heroes Radio - To be honest, I haven't listened to this one yet, so I don't know much about it.  But I know people like it.

Art Marketing Action - This one obviously focuses on the business side of art.  They're short, but there are quite a few episodes on a variety of topics.

Personally, I've really gravitated more towards this, over music, as a source of knowledge.  I can listen not only while I'm painting, but while I'm driving, while I'm exercising, while I'm cooking dinner, while I'm cleaning at work.  And if I ever get tired of a topic, I can always switch gears and listen to something else.  I have a slew of NFL related podcasts.

In regards to art and audio specifically, I don't have a preference between having my mind occupied or no.  I can work either way.  But I just prefer listening to this.  I can produce work and learn at the same time.  And it doesn't even have to be a podcast.  It can be an audiobook.  Or, I can put a documentary on the tv just as easily, off of youtube or netflix or amazon.

For anyone interested, here's a list of some of my favorite podcasts not related to art:

Fitness Confidential - Vinnie Tortorich teaches diet, fitness, and the science behind it all.  If you decide to check this one out, the Friday shows are my favorites.  He brings on experts in the field to discuss the science behind what happens in our bodies.

The Adam Carolla Show - This one is always a lot of laughs, and there's often a bit of good, pragmatic life advice.

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History - A long form history podcast.  Episodes don't go up very often, but they're well worth the wait.  They're so interesting, it's like listening to a story.

Astronomy Cast - An educational podcast on the topic of astronomy.  It's been around for a long time, and covers every imaginable related topic.

Ross Tucker Football Podcast - This is my favorite NFL podcast.  Ross Tucker is a former player and current sports media personality.  This covers both current news, and general topics and philosophies in football.

Have any suggestions for great podcasts I haven't found yet?  I'd love to hear about them.

Bonus pro-tip:  Wireless Bluetooth headphones.  I've tried a few different ones, and they definitely aren't all equal - connectivity problems, comfort, etc.  The most expensive ones were the worst I've had, though I haven't had the triple digit price-tag ones to try.  These here are the best I've had, and also the cheapest:  Mpow Cheetah Headphones

It can be a difficult topic for artists.  I envy those artists that have a clarity of purpose in regards to their content.  They know what they want to do, or want to say.  We aren't all that lucky.

The conflict I hear of most often, is an artist having to decide between what they want to paint, and what their gallery / buyers want them to paint.  Typically, galleries like to see consistency of content.  They want you to provide them with more of what they know sells.  And collectors like what they like, and sometimes if you change what you're doing, they no longer like it.  And as an artist, you want your work to sell so that you can make a living.  But at the same time, your interests and knowledge as an artist grow and expand, and sometimes you just outgrow what you're doing, and it becomes time for a change.  That's when this conflict arises.  Should the artist rake the risk of losing sales by changing their work, or give in and just keep doing the same thing?  Those that give in tend to start losing their love of painting, and it becomes work that they have to force themselves through.  It can also stunt your growth as an artist.  So, I feel the correct answer here is obvious.

But, that particular problem isn't mine, nor do I ever expect it to be.  I'm not the kind of person that would fret over such a thing.  The question that plagues me is, "What should I paint?"

When you look at contemporary painters, the vast majority of their content falls into four categories: Landscape, Figurative, Still Life, or Abstract.  The first three are representational, meaning they paint what they see, even if it's in an impressionistic style.  And abstract also usually either focuses on one of those same three subjects, or is pure abstraction, with no subject.  These four content types are represented in the banner above.

For most artists, making this decision is simply a matter of painting what interests them.  They love nature, and paint the breathtaking scenes they encounter.  The texture in an old, dilapidated building fascinates them, so they paint it.  The atmosphere and symbolism of a dying flower fascinates them, so they paint it.

Some other artists have a message they wish to convey with their art, and base their content on that.  The glaciers are melting, and global warming is a thing, so they paint majestic glaciers and icebergs.  The degeneration of society is a problem, so they paint symbolic images illustrating it.  This kind of content is less common.

When I consider this question in regards to myself, I can't help but ask a second question: "What makes a piece of art important?"  Take the four paintings in the above banner as an example.  They are done by some of the most famous artists in current art history.  What made them so famous?  What does art need to become successful in today's world?  If you were to travel fifty years into the future, and look back at today's contemporary art world, what would a piece of art need, to be viewed as an important work that stands above most other art of its time?

These are questions I've pondered on many occasions.  I've drawn a few conclusions, but I don't have any concrete answers.  Historically, if you want your work to be viewed as important, you can be the first to do something, such as Jackson Pollock with his splatter paintings.  You can help to kick off a new painting movement that itself becomes viewed as important, such as what Monet did with his painting above, "Impression Sunrise".  It's possible to simply have a transcendent style and skill that sets you apart, such as is the case with Vincent Van Gogh.  Or you can simply be the product of good marketing, such as is the case with many paintings that are now famous.

Of these four avenues, the only one that is actionably pursuable, is the marketing.  It's a common opinion that at this point in art history, there is nothing new to do; everything has already been done.  I don't know if that's true, but it certainly isn't an easy thing to do.  Likewise with starting a new movement, which more or less goes hand in hand with doing something new.  And you can't simply decide to develop a transcendent style and skill; it just happens.  So, I have no answer to this question for the contemporary artist, beyond marketing.

If all you wish for is to be financially successful, the answer seems to be a bit easier.  Any of the standard four content types will work perfectly fine.  The work doesn't even necessarily need to be good.  You just have to market your self well.

Which, still leaves me with no answer as to "What should I paint?"  To be honest, representational art just doesn't interest me that much.  I don't want to paint a vase of flowers, or fruit, a simple figurative, or a landscape.  I want something more.  But, I don't have a message that I want to convey.  Recently, my content seems to be leaning towards my life as an artist, but I'm not exactly overflowing with content ideas on that front either.

Lately, I spend too much time looking at a blank, or half-worked, surface, with no idea what to put down.  It's my biggest problem.

It's something I've seen listed multiple times on numerous advice articles regarding self promotion in social media for artists.  Talk about your process, your materials, show how things are done, your workstation.  They say that these things that seem very boring and uninteresting to artists, are in fact very interesting to non-artists.  Is that really true?

This topic here is probably the least interesting item in that category: painting surfaces.  I can't imagine that this is really interesting, but maybe I'm wrong, and it's what I've been looking at doing something with this last week.  If you really do find something so mundane interesting, drop me a comment on it.

Generally speaking, when it comes to oil painting, there are two types of surfaces that are commonly used: canvas and board.  The more common choice is to use canvas stretched over a wooden frame.  The next most common is to paint on some sort of hardboard.  There is also a hybrid, canvas board, where you have canvas stretched over a piece of hardboard.  Canvas offers a springy surface, with a specific texture, and is light.  Hardboard offers a stiff surface, and can be very smooth, but can also be heavy.  Canvas board offers the stiff surface with the texture of canvas.

The majority of the paintings I have done have been on stretched canvas.  I've tried the canvas board, a few in my portfolio are on it, but decided that I don't like it.  At least, I didn't like the ones that I bought.  Currently, the painting I am working on now is a piece of cradled hardboard.  This is the first time I've tried painting on hardboard, and I like it enough that I'm planning on making my next few on the same surface.

So, here's where my current activity comes in.  Up to this point, I've been buying cheap canvases from Michaels.  They aren't very good quality, but I can get five of them for ten dollars or so with a coupon.  That's cost effective.  But, if I'm going to be selling my work moving forward, I don't want to be working on such cheap materials anymore.  I can't afford to pay for the quality prefabbed surfaces, which means I have to make my own if I want quality.

And so, I've been reading and looking at material options and costs.  There are multiple different options that I have to explore when it comes to boards.  I could do the standard thin hardboard and cradle it, which means adding braces to the back to keep it flat.  I could go with a thick piece of maple, which probably wouldn't need cradled, and carries a different atmosphere due to its weight.  I could use a thin birch panel, cradled.  There are so many different things to consider in terms of quality, such as resistance to moisture, smoothness of grain, long term durability.  I'm still reading about the different kinds of wood and their properties.

Then I have to consider how to prepare the board.  I need some kind of gesso, which is the basecoat that goes underneath the oil paint.  It keeps the oil from seeping into and rotting the surface of whatever I am painting on.  And it can be expensive itself, so I'm considering cheap alternatives, such as the myriads of industrial acrylic house paints, or possibly mixing my own gesso.  On top of that, I see a lot of advice saying you should seal the wood before applying the gesso.  Once again, when it comes to materials, there are longevity issues to consider, flexibility of surface due to cracking possibilities, oil resistance, etc.  Decisions, decisions, decisions.

So, are you bored yet?  lol

Heck, they aren't even easy half of the time.  Thus is life.  A multitude of decisions, both big and small, made daily.  And sometimes those decisions are at odds, which makes things even more difficult than they already are.

Why do I bring this up?  Because what I'm trying to do with my art is in one of those places now.

I've listened to advice from a number of professors in school.  I've listed to literally dozens of interviews done with successful artists.  I've read countless discussions and articles and how-to's on process and problem solving in art.  And with the knowledge I've gleaned from this, I can form a picture of the progression of an artist's career, what they should be doing at what point, and where I personally am in that progression.

 Right now, I'm still in a formative stage where exploration of materials and techniques takes precedence over message and content.  There's little consistency from one work to the next, as there is a lot of experimentation happening.  As the process progresses, I will start getting a better feel for not only what it is I want to do, but how I want to do it, which will then result in more consistency.

And here's where the conflict comes in: What I should be doing, and what I'm actually doing. Being at this stage, what I should be doing is simply producing as much work as I can, learning as much as I can.  I know that at least a few of my professors would tell me that I shouldn't be selling this work.  In fact, I should probably destroy it, to make sure that I have no poor works in circulation in the future.  But what am I doing?  Just the opposite.

It's a conflict of interests.  Advice from experienced professionals tells me I shouldn't be trying to make money on my work right now, and shouldn't for probably another year or two at least.  But life and debt tell me that I need that money desperately, and can't let any opportunity to monetize my work pass me by.  Frustration ensues.  It's a conundrum.

I don't believe there's a right answer available to me for solving this conundrum.  That doesn't mean I have to stress over it though.  The Art of Zen says I should ignore such negative thoughts and simply enjoy life.  Do what will make me happy, enjoy the experience.  Sell my work, enjoy any positives that result.  If any negatives result, don't dwell on them.  Just move on and focus on the positives.  At least, that's how I interpret it.  And aren't the guys you meet that have that zen attitude down always the coolest guys around?  lol.

In the end, it's all just about finding happiness, and how to get there.  I have a tendency to rebel against constraints that say I shouldn't do something when it comes to my art, so ignoring career advice isn't so difficult for me.  I don't stress over it.  But it does make it difficult for me to talk up my work, play salesman for myself, when I have this thought in the back of my head that the work isn't good enough to sell yet.  The feeling that I might be ripping someone off by selling them my work at a price that isn't dirt cheap.  It's a common problem among artists, one that it's generally agreed you just have to push aside and ignore, defeat with the power of positive thinking.  And the Art of Zen.

I don't dwell on this as much as this post might make it seem.  It's just a thought that's crossed my mind lately, as I consider the next step I need to take to begin generating sales.  Anyone have any interesting thoughts on the matter?

Recently, I've been listening to a lot of interviews with experienced, successful artists, on the Artists Helping Artists podcast, and the The Savvy Painter podcast.  Listening to their stories of how they came up within the art world, how they work, the problems they face and how they overcome them, and their advice to younger artists, paints a picture of what it takes to be successful.  There are a number of themes that emerge, when you hear many of these artists saying the same thing about the same subject.

However, there are some contentions.  When these artists are all saying the same thing, it drives home that idea as something that I need to do.  But when they're disagreeing over a subject, it muddles things a bit, and makes them more interesting at the same time.  One such subject is the topic of self promotion through social media.

When I say generational, I'm not really referring to age, though it can correlate.  I'm thinking more in terms of experience as an artist, the time period in which they began working professionally and selling their art.  What I've noticed with this topic, is that the artists that are against promotion through social media, began in the 70s or 80s, maybe even 90s, working through the gallery system.  Those that are breaking into the field within the last fifteen or so years consider it to be an integral part of art business.

Once upon a time, if you wanted to be successful as a painter, your road led through galleries.  You'd work to get galleries to represent you, then they'd promote you and sell your work.  If you weren't represented by a gallery, you weren't taken seriously by most.

The advent of social media opened a new path.  Self promotion, instantaneous exposure of images of your work to potentially millions of viewers, now makes it possible for artists to find legitimacy and success outside of galleries.  Many artists that have found success this way still use galleries also, but it isn't the only game in town anymore.

The argument against the path of social media seems to stem around the concept of distraction.  It takes too much of the artist's time, occupies too much of their attention, is too much of a distraction from their work.  That time, energy and focus should all be directed towards growing as an artist and producing work.

I don't necessarily disagree with this stance.  I think there's a lot of truth to it.  But, I also think it's a lot easier to say such when you're already successful and have no need to do such things.  For someone who has yet to find success, it's a self-controlled alternative that puts your career in your own hands, without the need to rely others.  That's hard to ignore.

This topic is interesting.  It's multi-faceted.  I don't believe there's any correct answer, but I think it makes for interesting discussion.

As the official launch post of my blog, I thought it would be best to take the time to introduce myself and what I'm doing right now, for those of you who don't already know me.  Not that anyone is reading this blog right now, but I'm hoping that will change at some point, lol.

I don't want to turn this into a boring biography, so I'll make the history quick.

I received a Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&M in Corpus Christi in 2005.  I then spent 10 years failing to find direction.  It's crazy how quickly time passes, it went by in a blink.  After considering my options, I decided to pursue the life of a painter.  So, that being decided, I have begun painting again.  It didn't take long to realize that I have two issues I'll need to overcome:

1) First, I'm a painter, and our painting program focused solely on personal development.  The technical aspects of oil painting weren't taught.  And so now, as I begin painting again, and studying, I'm realizing how little I know.  There are so many different possibilities within the materials to explore, and so much depth in regards to technical and compositional process that I still don't know.

2) And second, our program as a whole focused on the creation of art.  The business of art wasn't something that was taught.  Of course, we all (us students) understood that you sell your art by getting into galleries and having shows, but I never learned how you go about doing that, or if there were any alternative options.  We also could have used some instruction on self marketing, legal issues, taxes, and any other technical business aspects of being an artist that I'm probably still unaware of.

I've spent a fair bit of time studying and exploring materials over the last year.  I've spent the last three months studying and listening to topics on the business aspects of art, and setting up this website.  But there's still a lot more to learn.

I think that's a pretty solid summary of my current status.  So, what am I working on now?  I have three pieces that are currently in progress, and each one illustrates a direction of thought my mind has taken recently.

I haven't really touched anything the last few months, while I was doing the research and setting up the website.  This piece in blue in the first three slides had been put aside and sitting for a number of months now.  This one has some thought behind the content, and is a good example of where my thought process has been most of the last year.  This one started as an exploration of three different blues and how they'd react with one another, with the content being symbolic of my current thought process.  I've begun working on it again.

The sculpture in the next slide is a plaster on board piece I did while in college.  I've always liked it quite a bit, and feel I didn't get to explore sculpture as much as I would have liked.  Not just plaster, I also enjoyed working with cement quite a bit.  So, a few months ago I spent some money on materials and started another plaster piece similar to this one.  The work in progress is the next two images.  It's still very rough, only a single layer of plaster on it atm.  I haven't started working on it again quite yet, but I will at some point.

In the course of my business of art research, I listened to quite a few interviews with successful artists from around the country.  Quang Ho was one of those.  I was impressed with his apparent technical knowledge of oil painting.  It turns out he has an instructional dvd that he made several years ago, where he gives an overview of everything he knows about painting in regards to structure and compositional process.  I picked it up, and am enjoying it quite a bit.  The last image is a piece I just started, experimenting with some of the things I am learning from Quang Ho's dvd.  There are a number of concepts I had never really thought about before being demonstrated and discussed in the video.  For an artist wanting to learn, it's an exciting discovery.  Only the base layer of paint is down on this piece currently, so it probably isn't terribly interesting to look at at the moment.

I imagine this is probably already way too long of a post, so I'll end it here.  I'm going to try to stick to a schedule of at least one post per week, so stay in touch.

Thanks for reading!