On becoming a better person through art.
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Mono no aware, is a Japanese term for the awareness of impermanence or transience of things. This is a state of wistful knowing and gentle sadness about the fleeting nature of life…
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I’ve always been curious how much of the work we create is a product of our environment. There are long dissertations on the Nature/Nurture impact on each person’s development, but how much of the visual/sensory experience is consumed and metabolized and then makes its way into the artist’s work? This is an ongoing obsession of mine as an artist and traveler…
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I know I'm always harping on about art and travel, because it’s how I prefer to make my way in the world. Alas, there are very real challenges to making art WHILE traveling.
Just last week in London I went to the Tate Britain, the Tate Modern, V and A Museum, The Serpentine Gallery, the Somerset House Design Biennale, The Dennis Severs House near Spitalfields. I saw plays at the National Gallery, The Globe Theater for Shakespeare and The Victoria Palace Theater to see Hamilton! And those are…
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My tree themed paintings are off in the world, having shipped them to the gallery before heading to the UK last week. 9 small-ish works as part of a group show with 3 other artists.
This became a very tight body of work, and hugely satisfying. Sometimes I resist a focused theme - I don't know why, but I often rebel when having to do anything! Even though trees have been my focus countless times, I like to just allow what arises to arise. But then again, being obstinate can be a real hinderance to one's career! READ MORE…
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Prepping for a show with a theme is often an exercise in restraint. This is not a bad thing - on the contrary it's about focus and boundaries. I've often mentioned the candy store syndrome, otherwise known as the Blank Canvas Stare. With so many possibilities, it's classic to become paralyzed and do nothing, except maybe the laundry. But with a theme, I'm less distracted by the vastness of the Universe, and grounded by …
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Now that my 30 Days of Aqua paintings are complete, they are finding themselves pairing up with their mates. Something about their natural affiliations make me happy, like finding one's tribe.
Even though the color Aqua is the tie that binds these paintings together, I wanted to be free to explore different strokes, and include imagery, or whatever I felt inclined to do in the moment. Sometimes just one limiting factor can throw the doors of freedom wide open…
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The heat is already bearing down, the skies hazy with drifting wildfire smoke from miles away, and my default guidance system pulls me north. Could be my genetic predisposition - 98% British Isles, Irish, French and Scandinavian. I'm not built for heat and glaring sunlight.
I did a residency in Iceland back in 2012 at Gullkistan, and wrote this passage in my sketchbook while there:
"To be in Iceland, the newest land mass on the planet - the rumbling belly of continents. Breaking, stretching, gasping open. Bleak, scoured, fertile. The clouds pan across the flatlands - spreading…
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Sometimes I set myself a painting challenge, to create boundaries in the candy store that is art-making. As summer heats up, my gaze turns to the cooling effect of Aqua. Doesn't matter in what way it shows up, but in land-locked Colorado, it gives me a a sense of water, flow, diving in to something that isn't rock.
These paintings are fast and loose, pint sized and purposely affordable. I love working small - there is less…
As I prepare for my weekend workshop here in Boulder, I'm reflecting on the title and focus of this workshop. I first heard the quote "Courage is more important than Confidence" from the designer Debbie Millman. It struck me immediately that courage is the key to all creative pursuits and is critical in the broader context of ALL life choices.
There's an assumption that we must lead with confidence. That…
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