Tag Archives: art

12/13/11

Is Any Idea Art?

There are very few people I have had this discussion with and I’m not sure of the answer. Can any idea be art? For example, here is an idea using “found objects” i.e., garbage, or what would be trash, only it’s been glued to a surface to make a new object.

This item sold on an art website as a piece of art.

I’ve taken many art history classes so just to be clear, I’m very aware of the many art movements from the last century and before that have used trash or found objects and used them for and as art work. But my question today is more of the nature of wondering whether basically anything, associated with an idea, can be declared art.
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10/13/11

Artists and Apple

I have a lot of things in progress at the moment, but due to Blackberry RIM problems, the photos I took and sent to myself were not reaching my email. Today two of them finally did:

This is Sunset Woman again, in progress.  I see a ton of things that need fixing, so I’m putting it aside for awhile while I work on other things.  September was so busy I nearly lost my mind, and this month is turning out to be an easier month and a time to plan and get more work done. I have a mental list of paintings to finish, fully pictured and wonderful, of course. They never really turn out quite that way, but they always start out wonderful.  My new series is fully planned, but barely started in actuality.

After the death of Steve Jobs last week, I have begun to really appreciate how his products have made people more creative.  I often bring my MacBook into the studio to work on websites (like I’m doing now) or to look up reference photos, or to look up art related articles, etc.  Yes, it’s a distraction at times, but it’s also an invaluable tool.  I was painting directly from the screen last night, which saves me from having to print photos when I want to use them.  But of course, paint and computers don’t mix, so if you ever do this, be very careful!

Like a lot of visual artists, I depend on the internet and my computers for help in planning and completing my artwork.  It’s hard to explain how Steve Jobs has affected  my art, but I think he was an inspiring person in a lot of ways.  His products were and are great tools for artists of all kinds.

Jobs embodied not just creativity, but fearlessness.  He didn’t seem to care what other people thought as much as he cared about what mattered to him, and following his gut. He was the epitome of pursuing excellence.  It wasn’t always that way though — I remember when Macs and their OS’s often just didn’t work at all.  There were a lot of bugs and design problems in the early days of Apple, but they did seem to iron them out, mostly at least, later on.  I could go on and on about Steve Jobs, but you’ve probably already read most of what I’d say anyway.  I toast to an amazing mind, and  I consider him an artist,  not an inventor, so the artists of the world mourn his death along with the tech guys.

Now if some rich person out there has an iPad 2 they want to unload on a poor, starving artist who lusts after a certain drawing app she has no device to run  . . . . please contact me.

 

02/3/11

Pour Painting

This painting is in progress — it’s being done using a pouring technique that I’m experimenting with. I started it Wednesday night and decided I was making such a mess I better really attack it tomorrow after I’ve laid down a plastic drop cloth and covered everything within a 10′ radius. This is one of those messy procedures that I like a lot but the house can suffer. I don’t have a real studio at all. Just a table.

I love abstract art, but nothing makes me more frustrated than seeing two lumps of color on a canvas in an art magazine with an enormous price underneath it and a prestigious gallery representing it. Even worse, one dark lump of color. That’s just laziness and it’s being rewarded, even though intellectually I understand how it’s art. This happened the other day, as I was paging through an art magazine, which is the only reason I mention it. Most days I love abstract art and feel that it is more meaningful than representational art that looks like a photo. Photorealistic art usually leaves me cold. At least, looking through the magazine inspired me. . . . My painting will be acrylic and it’s about 32″ X 26.