About the Artist

A Visual Artist’s attempt at “prose”

aka

(The Artist’s Statement)

If I paint, why do I need to write?

I actually did take a seminar on writing an Artist’s Statement.  Did all the famous painters in history have an Artist’s Statement?  I don’t think so.  Artist’s Statements came into vogue when unintelligible art became popular and nobody could understand what the hell the visual artist was trying to convey.  Abstract Expressionism was so heady and deep that the only people that knew what it was, let alone what it meant or was supposed to mean were the artist’s psychoanalyst and his marketing agent after they read his Artist’s Statement. The other issue is “time”.  A lot of viewers just want to take the Reader’s Digest approach to art. The “tweeter me” the point you’re trying to make, I don’t have time to read the whole novel. Well, I don’t have time to write an explanation of every painting I create either.

The truth is I’m actually a carpenter’s Apprentice. I feel I have progressed to the level of Journeyman. I’ve spent the last five years learning how to build the frame of a structure. I continue to practice the basics, but have also began doing some cabinet work. As my skills progress, my ability to create insightful works of art is evolving. My hope is to reach a point where my art speaks for itself. I may not have reached that point in the eyes of most people. So, I will explain an issue. I paint the female form. I attempt to paint sensuality. Not sexuality nor pornography, both of which can be viewed at home on your TV or by walking through the mall. That is not what my art is trying to convey. I attempt to paint a point of view. I paint women because they are nice to look at and have qualities that intrigue me.   Why would anybody want to stare at a bowl of fruit for two months in an attempt to find the “essence of our existence”, (that was the heady and deep part). As soon as I attain the level of the “Master” craftsman I’ll start painting bananas. Wouldn’t it have been a lot more enjoyable to get up close and really look at my artwork rather than read this crap?