Words of wisdom from John Baldessari
Author Archives: jbart3916
About jbart3916
New paintings
Yesterday was one of those particularly exhilarating days in the studio……a day to begin new paintings. I always work on more than one piece at a time (to allow for drying times, thinking time, using up left-over cups of paint, to be able to try out an inspiration that comes to me while working on one painting to another piece), and I am ready to add to the MINDSCAPE series and begin a new series of small river-related canvasses, title to be determined. 16 new beginnings, no rules (except for the size constraints), no specific plans other that to experiment and play with the textures and the colors. I crank up the music and do my best to keep my mind open to what is happening on the canvasses, confident that I will be able to move forward to a successful conclusion with each piece. I already know, based on past experience, that some will coalesce fairly quickly, and some will develop in a somewhat orderly manner, step by step, and that some will be real, frustrating struggles. Yes, I am interested in the destination, but to me the real joy is in the journey.
“You should have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague one. If you know exactly what you are going to do, what’s the good of doing it? Since you know, the exercise is pointless. It is better to do something else.” Pablo Picasso
Adding live links
The goal of the day……learn to add a live link.
The most recent quote posted is by one of my favorite living artists, Virginia Cobb of Cerrillos, NM. I have been fortunate to have worked with her in a number of workshop settings, in her home studio, in New Orleans, and in Minnesota.
Her book, DISCOVERING THE INNER EYE, is a must for any artist’s library.
Looking within.
In painting we are each individual in our expressive needs, our view of the world, our sense of what is beautiful.
These traits of character determine our choices of images and symbols, the important element of painting which cannot be taught.
The tools of painting, design, and technique can be formulated, and they become our vocabulary of painting.
It is through trial and through experimentation that we find the creative form which best suits our individual expressive needs.
In this search we are each an experiment of one.
Virginia Cobb in DISCOVERING THE INNER EYE
Art House Co-op
Several months ago I was introduced to Art House Co-op, a community of artists concept based in Brooklyn. Very exciting stuff.
Art House is an independent Brooklyn-based company that organizes global, collaborative art projects. Their flagship endeavor is the Sketchbook Project: an evolving library that features more than 18,000 artists’ books contributed by creative people from 130+ countries. They also operate the Brooklyn Art Library, the storefront exhibition space in the heart of Williamsburg, as a home for all of their projects.
Art House began in 2006 in Atlanta, GA and moved to New York City in 2009. Since that time, the organization has grown into a worldwide community of more than 60,000 artists. By focusing on the intersection of hands-on art making and new technology, Art House nurtures community-supported art projects that harness the power of the virtual world to share inspiration in the real world.
All of the projects are open to everyone.
I have thus far participated in The 4X6 Exchange 2 and The Note Swap. And I just signed up to participate in The Sketchbook Project: 2013.
(there must be some way to make this link live, but I have no idea how to do it. Any help would be appreciated)
4/26/12: and now I know.
More learning
Lesson for the day:
Can I post comments/photos from my iPhone?
And the answer is yes! And I can control the size of the photo I insert in a post. This WordPress this is quite wonderful
Everyday art
“Beauty is everywhere, in the arrangement of your pots and pans, on the white wall of your kitchen, perhaps more than in your 18th century salon or in the official museum.” Fernand Leger (1881-1955)
gallery wall in Iceland: photo by Mark Bergerson
Demons
For the artist, there is a seemingly endless list of fears, misconceptions, and excuses that get in the way of making art, and it is only by recognizing and facing these demons that you will be able to realize your goal to become a good artist. I’ll just lay a list of some of the most common demons (as I see it) today, and then deal with each one in greater depth in upcoming posts. They are not in any order of importance or seriousness, and while some artists have to deal with only one or two of these issues, some find themselves suffering from nearly all of them. The first step is to consider each issue in relation to your own situation, and determine, honestly, what impact it has on your art-making.
1. Fear of failure/criticism
2. Unrealistic expectation
3. Self-doubt (lack of confidence)
4. Self-discipline
5. Success
6. Choice of medium
7. Time
8. Procrastination
10. Lack of focus
11. Multi-tasking
12. Misunderstanding of your intent
13. Misunderstanding yourself
14. Packrat
15. Perfectionism
16. Inertia/lethargy
“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” David Bly
Unrealistic expectations
In my earlier observations on artistic talent, I said that there are 4 primary reasons that everyone doesn’t make good art. One of these reasons is unrealistic expectations (belief in art myths). And one of the most damaging of these myths is that if you are a really good painter, a painting will flow effortlessly from beginning to end. Anyone who is an accomplished painter will find this thought laughable. Yes, making art is often exhilarating and flowing, but making art is frequently hard, frustrating work. If you don’t have the self-discipline and confidence to power through those difficult times, your work will never improve.
The only way to get better at making art is to make art. It is that simple.
You can read books and magazine articles, watch videos, take workshop after workshop, assemble the finest and most comprehensive range of art materials that money can buy, build a state of the art studio, but until you have done 1000 paintings you won’t be a good painter. Until you have done 1000 drawings you won’t be good at drawing. (I just made those numbers up to make my point…….999 paintings might do the job)
The Nike slogan applies here……”JUST DO IT!”
“Artists today think of everything they do as a work of art. It is important to forget about what you are doing, then a work of art may happen.” — Andrew Wyeth
Tags
Today my mission is to figure out what a tag is, and why and how it is used. I do like the term “tag cloud”. It brings interesting images to mind, and is a good idea for a drawing.
Judith Bergerson / JackPine Studio 