Art Discipline or the Rise of the Phoenix -part one

A long time ago, 2001 I think it was, Mrs Elsa Clarke, one of my lecturers for design studio told us on our very first day of class  that an artist was always hungry; an artist was never satisfied with learning this or achieving that but was always looking beyond to the next level; always seeking to challenge himself. Always seeking to grow.

Those words stayed with me and I have to admit they became my mantra and opening segue when talking to my new class of students every year. Yes I make sure and say that she told it to us and yes when she first said it she told us who told  her but I don't remember that part and anyway that's not what's important. The words stayed with me because I  realised just how profound and accurate they were when I made the decision to become a professional artist.

People who purchase or view  art sometimes live in this bubble which informs them -rather erroneously - that making art is 'easy' and artists sit around all day. They don't need to research or think or plan or anything because  paintings just fall from the sky like manna from heaven.What they do is 'easy'; making art is an easy job. This is then passed on to the wee ones who come in expecting to just sit back and allow artistic success to  fall on them.  Maybe that's our fault. We are good at what we do so we make it look effortless.

Well in this blog post, my mission will be to dispel  all those myths. I can do it in one statement:

ART IS DOWNRIGHT HARD!

I'll spare some time to explain and I'll even do a follow-up with an artist who has experienced some measure of success and who is in a position to share thoughts on the subject.

It takes discipline to make art. I put that word in bold because it is so easily discounted. It takes long hours of research, planning and re-planning (did I just make up a word?) Now don't get me wrong I'm not trying to spoil the romance for those of you who are just coming into this noble profession but rather enhance it. There are some times when you'll pick up the brush and a painting will almost literally fall on your canvas  and you treasure those moments because you can get a really great feeling especially if it's a good painting but that's the exception and not the rule. The rule is research. The rule is make sure and observe all the elements of art: line, shape, colour, value, texture, space and the principles of harmony, balance, rhythm, contrast, emphasis, unity. Not to mention composition and perspective and a solid drawing if that's what you do and good knowledge of your tools and how to manipulate them to enhance your work. The rule is start over if you are not achieving the goals or if it just plain sucks. The rule is make the complex compositions appear simple; uncomplicated.

Artists worth their salt study constantly; reading good art books and attending workshops. They put in long hours at their easel and develop thick coats to ward off attacks by errant art critics, both knowledgeable and otherwise. They are ever changing, ever growing.

In addition to the long painting hours artists do their own marketing and must also deal with the let down that comes from rejections and harsh critiques and continue producing and going back for more. Today's artist is a creatively genius,  computer savvy marketing exec.  (Please note that the art still comes first)

[caption id="attachment_1183" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Anthony Gonzalez, Student (Trinidad & Tobago)The Creative War: Rise of the Phoenix; 17x14; markers and paint on paper"][/caption]

I can illustrate a true artist in this sense (Hopefully you will get the idea from my poetic imagery) As she paints her masterpiece, she divests part of herself unto the canvas. With sweat pouring down her brow she wages war against faulty composition and makes sure her colours are playing nicely with each other. If she's a plein aire painter, she must also wage war against the elements as she feverishly tries to get everything down before the light changes and if she's an abstract artist she must chase the ghosts and phantoms and dreams that drive her to create while still observing the artistic elements and principles. Finally she sees the 'end' in sight and at the final stroke of the brush, she hesitantly signs her name, still wondering if she is truly finished ( She may pass by it tomorrow and see something that needs 'fixing' and pick up the brush again).

That painting marks the end of that part of herself that she has given to that piece of art; that piece of history. Tomorrow she will rise again, like the mythical phoenix, reborn, renewed; a new idea to conceive, and a new landscape to forge; a new 'ghost' to conquer.

It takes discipline and determination to become an artist. Sweat, tears and a hard skin.  Talent is important and necessary but it must also be coupled with hard work. The saying "Hard work reaps rewards" is just as important for making art. And that's the romance.

Create to make a statement or to sell? The great debate

I have heard many times from artists about creating a work of art that will sell or create a work that will express a feeling whether it be a bad feeling or a good feeling.

Artists are emotional, sensitive beings. They wish to create something that will speak for them. Art that will enlighten the viewer and bring awareness to a subject that wasn’t made aware before. Most of the time creating is an emotional response to something.

But what if you also would like your work to sell? An artist then can second guess their initial response to the subject matter and thoughts of reducing the impact of the art occurs. Are artists then selling out? Down playing their natural abilities to put emotion and excitement in their work? For fear of having their art ridiculed, of being negative and something that wouldn’t be hung on anyone’s wall or placed on a pedestal in a Den?

I have heard many stories from artists that paint animals and the great dilemma of painting to please a ‘would be’ collector. Or painting what is really there and what the artist really feels about the situation.
In the real world, many animals may seem like they are being abused, by the equipment used to train them or with what is used by someone to control them. And even the types of fencing that is used to hold them in an area.

I’m not looking for animal rights activists to start chiming in here, as I am still on the topic of art. Portraying that equipment and the emotions on the face of that animal in a piece of art is what is being addressed here. If you include barbed wire in a painting, if you include the stressed look on an animals face, will that art sell? Or make a statement, or both? Some may see the animal as stressed, while others would see it as excitement and the beauty of that particular breed. And the barbed wire may have a negative impact on the viewer and they feel sorry for the animal behind that wire, but on the other hand, this art is creating a response, an emotional response. Isn’t that what the art is created for in the first place? To create responses, whether good or bad, and to start a dialog for the artist to open up a little more about why it was created?
Creating the “explosive, emotional response art” is a great learning tool, for not only the artist who created the work, but also for the viewer. The viewer should be validated that their response is good and that it is ok to feel the way the art is pushing them to feel. Though these collectors may not want to display that work of art in their home because of a negative feeling, they will go home with a feeling. A piece of art helped them to feel and to have an honest feeling about that subject. Maybe it will help them to change something in this world for the better. Isn’t that what art is about?
So next time you create something from fire and emotional excitement, keep going with it. Don’t squelch it with that question “Will this sell?”

Artists, go with your heart and your emotional response to what you are creating and don’t lose sight of why you are creating it. Whether it be art that delights or art that creates a great controversy, or both!I have heard many times from artists about creating a work of art that will sell or create a work that will express a feeling whether it be a bad feeling or a good feeling.

Artists are emotional, sensitive beings. They wish to create something that will speak for them. Art that will enlighten the viewer and bring awareness to a subject that wasn’t made aware before. Most of the time creating is an emotional response to something.

But what if you also would like your work to sell? An artist then can second guess their initial response to the subject matter and thoughts of reducing the impact of the art occurs. Are artists then selling out? Down playing their natural abilities to put emotion and excitement in their work? For fear of having their art ridiculed, of being negative and something that wouldn’t be hung on anyone’s wall or placed on a pedestal in a Den?

I have heard many stories from artists that paint animals and the great dilemma of painting to please a ‘would be’ collector. Or painting what is really there and what the artist really feels about the situation.
In the real world, many animals may seem like they are being abused, by the equipment used to train them or with what is used by someone to control them. And even the types of fencing that is used to hold them in an area. I’m not looking for animal rights activists to start chiming in here, as I am still on the topic of art. Portraying that equipment and the emotions on the face of that animal in a piece of art is what is being addressed here. If you include barbed wire in a painting, if you include the stressed look on an animals face, will that art sell? Or make a statement, or both? Some may see the animal as stressed, while others would see it as excitement and the beauty of that particular breed. And the barbed wire may have a negative impact on the viewer and they feel sorry for the animal behind that wire, but on the other hand, this art is creating a response, an emotional response. Isn’t that what the art is created for in the first place? To create responses, whether good or bad, and to start a dialog for the artist to open up a little more about why it was created?
Creating the “explosive, emotional response art” is a great learning tool, for not only the artist who created the work, but also for the viewer. The viewer should be validated that their response is good and that it is ok to feel the way the art is pushing them to feel. Though these collectors may not want to display that work of art in their home because of a negative feeling, they will go home with a feeling. A piece of art helped them to feel and to have an honest feeling about that subject. Maybe it will help them to change something in this world for the better. Isn’t that what art is about?
So next time you create something from fire and emotional excitement, keep going with it. Don’t squelch it with that question “Will this sell?”

Artists, go with your heart and your emotional response to what you are creating and don’t lose sight of why you are creating it. Whether it be art that delights or art that creates a great controversy, or both!

A Snapshot of Rebecca Reeder

In a world filled with chaotic voices shouting “Me, Me, Me!”, I hear one voice beckoning, “You can help, they need us.” The certainty comes from a lifetime of giving. The voice belongs to Rebecca Reeder. As a young girl, Rebecca was constantly raiding the refrigerator to feed strays and takes bites of food to the animals at the animal shelter. In high school she had a big stuffed orangutan on her bed, and while reading National Geographic magazines stories she learned about women working with great apes. Rebecca had an inner feeling that she, too, had to do this. She supported the foundation for Koko the gorilla and was fascinated with the decades long study with her. She related to Penny who dedicated her life to Koko and she understood that to Penny, Koko was her child.

Be the Change for Wildlife by Rebecca_Reeder
Browse more Animals Postcards

Today, Rebecca is a poet and a photographer(her favorite media). She loves art and has always been creative, usually in writing and photography and designing cards. Her grandmother and a great, great grandfather were published poets, also. Rebecca has a Zazzle gallery, many of her products are designed with her photographs of her kids, orphaned orangutans. Rebecca supports numerous charities for impoverished schools and needy people. She also donates her profits from her sales to help wildlife and domestic animals. Her primary focus is the Orangutan Foundation International. Please keep Rebecca’s Zazzle gallery in mind while selecting gifts and cards for loved ones. I know if I received a present that helped one of these precious animals I would feel doubly blessed.

Orangutans My Favorite Things by Rebecca_Reeder
See more Orangutan Posters

I asked Rebecca if there were a story about one particular orangutan she would like to share with us. She answered, “Each orangutan is so unique, just like humans and children, so it is difficult to know where to begin. Since the orangutans at the OFI Care Center are orphans, they all tug at one's heart strings. I think mostly-blind Omre might be our favorite because he has incredible odds to overcome when he is released into the rain forest to live out his life as a wild orangutan. Omre's loss of eyesight is due to injuries; one can see where the side of his head was hit above the eye that is totally blind. He has very limited vision in the other eye. Some of the baby orangutans are missing hands or parts of an arm, the result of being literally cut out of their mothers' arms when the mothers were killed during destruction of rain forest or when the mothers entered a palm oil plantation in search of food in cleared areas. By the way, in my Smilebox slide show (on the home page of my Zazzle gallery) , Omre is the one in the second slide. There are two photos, jumping onto an assistant caretaker's back and then kissing him. Also, that is Omre in the "Blind Baby" card.”

Blind Baby card by Rebecca_Reeder
Browse other Wildlife Cards

Rebecca travels to Borneo, an island in Indonesia, for an extended visit, at least once a year to help care for the orphans. She helps get and prepare their food and she gets to interact and care for them. Orangutans don’t live on the ground in the wild, so they are encouraged to climb trees and swing on vines. They love swinging in tree tops and use the breezes in the tree canopy to cool off. Did you know that orangutans have a body temperature higher than humans?
Here is an adorable video of the orphaned orangutans:
Cute Dancing Orangutans on Youtube

Wildlife notecards - baby (version 2) by Rebecca_Reeder
Browse Primates Cards

To help the endangered orangutan specifically, you can become a member of the Orangutan Foundation International and you can foster orphaned orangutans. Also, you can donate money to the Orangutan Foundation International and specify that you want it to be used to buy land to set aside as protected areas of the rain forest. They are a registered charity and contributions to the Orangutan Foundation International are tax deductible in the United States. No donation is too small. People can make a difference. Also, Orangutan Foundation International offers two opportunities for people to volunteer as part of month-long work groups. If a person is adventurous, this might be an opportunity to apply for. It is rigorous, but truly a rare opportunity. OFI hopes to have one group each July and one each August. Dr. Birute' Gadlikas, the founder of OFI, is there, and still actively involved! Dr. Galdikas is one of the three so-called Leakey's Angels, along with Jane Goodall and the late Dian Fossey. Many people know Fossey's life story from the movie "Gorillas in the Mist." You can see the OFI Care Center in Jeff Corwin's episode about Borneo's Orangutans (filmed a few years ago) and an even older documentary starring Julia Roberts. Check out the October 1975 cover of National Geographic to see Dr. Galdikas and considering reading her book REFLECTIONS OF EDEN.
Rebecca Reeder’s links:
Website: www.RebeccaReeder.com
Online Stores: www.zazzle.com/Rebecca_Reeder (also on Cafe Press -but very limited)
Guest editor/blog at: http://ofitoday.com(Orangutan Foundation International )

Repeat after me: I am an Artist!

Even though artists like Rembrandt and Da Vinci, Monet and Matisse, Picasso and Pollock set the stage for greatness in their spheres, there is still a view that artistic pursuit is not as important as other academic or physical pursuits. Artists still have the stigma attached as struggling, art educators still have to wrangle in order to get the necessary resources to teach children and adult alike and they still have to lobby so that their art program isn't cut from under them.

It can be very discouraging for a young artist trying to establish himself, especially in this tough economic climate to be told that maybe he should try another avenue or get a 'real job'. I have had experiences where  kids in my art classes started doing poorly because they were made to feel that what they were doing: creating new and innovative things was not important or they thought that it was nothing big so they came in and caved when they realised the level of discipline being an artist requires. Even as professionals we allow ourselves to be seen as whimsical and dramatic so that we can be 'seen' but unless we demand it, our chosen path is hardly taken seriously by the wider world. (Of course I must interject here that not every one views the arts as unnecessary but not enough see it as important).

The importance of our place as artists can get lost. Lost in our becoming brainwashed into thinking that we are just 'artists' (as if it's a bad word); lost in the hustle of trying to get 'there' wherever there is.
I guess that's why for my first ever art blog post  (yes I do have my own blog but you have to admit, writing an article on art for a very public audience, is another thing entirely) I wanted to remind us that what we do as artists cannot be discounted.
As artists we play a pivotal role in society's wellness. Ours is to supply the beauty in the midst of all the ugly, the voice to express the feelings of anxiety and chaos that is felt but can't be expressed (Hey even Munch had his place and purpose). We are the pictorial historians of days and life gone by and the balance that provides a base for all other subject matter to make sense.
The bottom line is believe in what you do and who you are. You are an artist and no matter what, your role is a crucial one. What you do is meaningful. Some may say that I'm overstating the fact but there had to be a little artistic flair in Eddison for him to come up with the design for the lightbulb.
Cheers!Even though artists like Rembrandt and da Vinci, Mone and Matisse, Picasso and Pollock set the stage for greatness in their spheres, there is still a view that artistic pursuit is not as important as other academic or physical pursuits. Artists still have the stigma attached as struggling, art educators still have to wrangle in order to get the necessary resources to teach children and adult alike. It can be very discouraging for a young artist trying to establish himself, especially in this tough economic climate and the importance of our place as artists can get lost in the hustle of trying to get 'there' wherever there is.
I guess that's why for my first ever art blog (yes I do have my own blog but you have to admit writing for a very public audience is another thing entirely) I wanted to remind us that what we do as artists cannot be discounted.
As artists we play a pivotal role in society's wellness. Ours is to supply the beauty in the midst of all the ugly, the voice to express the feelings of anxiety and chaos that is felt but can't be expressed (Hey even Munch had his place and purpose). We are the pictorial historians of days and life gone by and the balance that provides a base for all other subject matter to make sense.
The bottom line is believe in what you do and who you are. You are an artist and no matter what your role is a crucial one. Some may say that I'm overstating the fact but there had to be a little artistic flair in Eddison to come up with the design for the lightbulb.
Cheers!

The Artists' Spotlight - Ginette Callaway, Dawn Sebaugh, Wil Moore

This will forever be the age old question, "What is Art ? " Here is one definition, "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance." (www.dictionary.com ). This then leads me to ask why is one artist's work of a straight line and twisted colors or a splash across the canvas appealing and a detailed portrait may get just a simple appreciative nod? It is all stated in the above definition, art is extremely subjective, though an artist may put their all in a project, it is the viewer that determines it's popularity. Trends, schools, movements, techniques, styles, politics sets the tone for art appeal.
When one thinks of Impressionism, Monet comes to mind, Surrealism, Dali, Cubism, Picasso.
Here I will feature three separate artists in style, and genre, I have selected each one for the appeal they have on me and my taste .  I have my favorite artists, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Goya, Dali,  these names will forever be equated with art greatness, the beauty of art is as long as there is life it will never lose it's appeal or fade.  Art is life and life is Art.

Okefenokee Sunset by Ginette Callaway



Abstract - CASINO by Dawn Sebaugh




Desperation by Wil Moore