Call to Entry

In 30 weeks, I will posses a BFA in the discipline of drawing and painting. In and of itself,the degree means little as credentials to be an artist. Lots of people have them that neither draw, or paint, and never will once they leave the university system. 

So why is the degree so coveted by me? I have resented the process as much as I have pined for it. In this quantitative society, creative out put  has very little value to consumers without there being a tie-in of function.  A formal degree, does not imply talent or training, it infers discipline. And that is the great American equalizer in the 21st Century. No one will EVER ask you if you finished high school, but they will want proof of your undergrad experience.

Now that I am relatively secure that I will get that those three letters after my name, what will they get me? In a word-access. In the very insular world of fine art, you need one of two things; street 'cred, or an MFA to "play." As I am neither a child virtuoso, or painting with my teeth, it is back to Academia, for me to prove my discipline for the sport of art. 

And it is a very competitive sport, this Art Thing. CALL TO ENTRY. We scour the trades for it like "O" searching for the Roissey Academy. We hope some recognition, even if it is rejection, will be a pleasurable pain, and worth all the discipline.

the pitter patter of patterns

 I have always considered myself a person with "nervous hands." I cannot keep my hands still if I am in a lecture -or a bar. On the phone with my family.......memo pads deserve a curated show!

My most recent body of work has evolved from the doodles I created while suffering through some presentations a few quarters ago. 

Through a collision of information completely unrelated to one another, I have considered changing my position on free style mark making being "just doodles." They may be a very specific response to very specific stimuli. And EVERYONE does it to one degree or another.

So check this out. I was given a hot book tip from a relative who is minister and an engineer. This is relevant, because she and I have polar opposite understandings of faith,spirituality, and its practice. But  we completely agree that it is necessary to think about it. -Circling back! She gave me this hot tip on a book called "The Shack," by Wm Paul Young.  I am not writing a book review, so check it out on your time. But what is pertinent to this posting is the reference in the book to a mans soul being like a unkempt garden, beautiful but a mess. But from above, it is a fractal, which by definition is anything But a mess. It is a very specific pattern, repeated ad- infinitum, and no matter how magnified, it maintains its system. Bit of a brain buster. Consider that your DNA is constant regardless of where it is, toe nail, saliva,blood-it is YOU on the micro level as well as the macro level reading this.  And I am not a scientist, but I do like to garden, so the metaphor caught my imagination.

So the second, seemingly unrelated bit of info to insist I pay attention happened in my Art of Ancient India class. (hang in there with me, it's almost over!) The discussion was about the Indian perception  of the universe being constantly created and destroyed  simultaneously. (One does have to give up the faith in linear progression of ANYTHING to play with this paradigm). With this as the starting point (RIGHT?), the understanding that the micro and the macro of the universe is organized using SACRED GEOMETRY.  And  an aspect of this geometry is recognized in the visual vibration of PATTERN.

Now,I am going to bring it home! The third bit of information I came across was in a book called,"Color, A Natural History of the Palette," by Victoria Finlay. Check this out!! She points out the universe is composed of electromagnetic waves. The human eye can see it as light, and we can only distinguish 10 million variations within it. Now when we see the whole range, it is perceived as "white". When some wave lengths are missing, we perceive it as "color." Yes, that is boring, but check this out-Everything has the electromagnetic wave stuff going on. So when light encounters matter, both change because they are trying to match wave patterns-what we see as a red apple, is because, the pattern that doesn't match is the one we see as RED!

Yes. I am a nerdiac, and that's hot.

Back to the work at hand. "If", humans, being simultaneously matter and spirit that share a frequency, do we respond to the harmony and discord, around us? Do we capture that in our thoughtless doodling? As Artists, we are vibrating at a frequency that allows us to see the colors as we do, and we are compelled to organize them as art to create some subatomic harmony in the world. Are all those memo pad scribbles where we capture the pattern and rhythms of what is and isn't said, but felt?

Now go to Google Images and search Dali Lama/ Mandalas and Fractal Art, it will change your frequency!!!

studio updates

It has been a while since I have been at the laptop, but I have been in the studio.

And I have been thinking thoughts.

With the campaign wars,nationalized loan sharking,and the creation of the high fructose corn syrup council,there has been a lot to think about!

But really, I only have thoughts about art.

The task for me has been to be inspired by a theme of some sort, or an idea, and build a cohesive body of work around it. Well, it didn't happen quite that way. For this artist, big ideas just mean bigger problems! The idea gets lost in overwhelming details.

Mindless = Mind blowing

I have a practice of working on multiple projects at the same time. It gives me a way to keep working when I hit a wall on one project and I can get some new ideas from a new project. I don't recommend more than three projects-nothing will get done. Nothing.

I have a habit of making compulsive circles and dots. I do it on the phone, while watching TV, or talking on the phone. Eventually they evolved into forms and figures to keep me busy while pondering the Big Ideas. Simple and clear, fill a form with forms. Lo' and behold- a cohesive body of work!!!!!

I suspect the transition came about because I wasn't trying to realize a preconceived idea.  The ideas evolved from a process independent of an expectation. The final analysis of the work in progress is that I want to improve the materials I am using to elevate the aesthetic of the work. Couture vs. off the rack.

I still have some Big Ideas, but I am trying to approach them with a process that is more intuitive than dictated. We'll see how it works......

five cent whiskey: New York Times Op-Ed Art: "What to Do in Denver if You're a Democrat"

five cent whiskey: New York Times Op-Ed Art: "What to Do in Denver if You're a Democrat"

Funk This !!!

Let me be clear. I am not complaining. I am making an observation.
Today was stupid hot. It isn't the heat that is my nemesis. It is the AIR QUALITY! OMG!! the funk of it!This afternoon, it has been like huffing itty bitty chips of hot concrete into my lungs. Even dogs on the bike trail, were pacing themselves like old ladies in too tight shoes. I may have even had a split second fantasy about working at Dairy Queen instead of being a painter.....the heat.

Perhaps there was a hallucinogenic factor working on me, but the upside was the incredible atmospheric effects in the Ravine! There was this amazing glow around the creek, and since I didn't hear any voices, or see any famous religious people, I'm thinking it was the light. I insist, it was the light!

Because the sun was so high, it was a bust for the famous subtle coloration of Walhalla Ravine, but there were these amazing sharp edges and high contrasts everywhere. Not at all inspiring for painting(and I did drink all the water I'd brought), but these were excellent conditions for doing some drawings of the area and detailed studies of pattern ,texture, and natural peculiarities.
***soapbox alert!soapbox alert!*** Taking the time to do things like pages of specific leaves,rocks,bark- makes for a serious arsenal in your process. I consider it the equal to painting a portrait that is the likeness of someone, not just of a person posed. It is very easy in this genre of painting to make work that is easily overwhelmed with a color story and lose its depth and the originality of the landscape. Especially with watercolor painting, places where there is a clear contour is essential to the composition. So be serious about your details, if you want to be making serious work.To quote George Clinton, "you can't fake the funk!"***soapbox down! soapbox down!***
Okay!Sometimes the heat can make a painter cranky.....
Anyway, under serious threat of heat stroke, I took myself and my little drawings to DQ,I mean back to my studio. Seriously, I did stimulate the economy with a Peanutbuster Parfait, then I went home(passed the gym,'cause it is hot!). Having been revived, I will sort out my studies and see if the funk's for real!

M.







So, under threat of heat stroke

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