Month: September 2013
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Envisioning Leadership
“Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there,” John P. Kotter (The Painter’s Keys) Where is the next great art movement? Are artists today struggling through a crisis of ideas or is it art in general? Are artists mimicking other artists or variations of other movements? Is painting dead,…
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Blurry Lines
Where are the lines between Art and Craft? The fall Art and Craft fairs are in full swing now. Who decides whether it is Art or Craft? Are there a set of rules that say this is craft and that is art? The debate has raged on and on with no definitive answers. A search turns…
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Colorful Fridays–Sunset Yellow
“It has the quality of appearing to recede into the picture’s distant plain (sic) (un)like other yellows that sit in front of the plain(sic).”– Pigments Through The Ages All of the Naples colors are favorites of mine but especially Naples Yellow. I just love it. It squishes so nicely. Naples Yellow mixes well with just…
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Cloudy Thinking
“The arts have an extraordinary ability to enhance our lives, to help us heal, and to bring comfort in times of great stress.”–Dana Gioia, NEA Chairman, 2003, (from Creativity in Healthcare.com) How would you like to sit before a painting of what looks like bleeding clouds while waiting to have medical tests? My friend, Sue,…
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Say What?????
“Any sort of pretension produces mediocrity in life and in art.” Margot Fonteyn (from brainy quotes) While walking around at a large art exhibit, (see “Voices”), my friend and I overheard various comments and opinions on the art. One conversation left us so puzzled that it continues to produce a smile even now. It was…
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Voices
“It takes courage to paint, to express yourself that way and put it out there for others to see and comment on.”–Carla Neggers–The Rapids, pg 361-62 Occasionally, a statement in an unlikely place can jump out and grab your attention. The above quote, in a suspense fiction novel, provoked such a response. It does take…
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Right Brain Vision, Left Brain Knowledge
“It is in this sense, I believe, that the field of education has much to learn from the arts about the practice of education.” Elliot Eisner (from infed.org) Artists regularly utilizing drawing in their work know it sharpens visual skills and heightens awareness of the focused subject. Science is coming around to that awareness, as well,…
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Who Lights The Fire??
“Nothing changes until something moves.” Albert Einstein (from The Painter’s Keys) Does art have the ability to move people to action? Do actions move artists to create? Would anything move without art? It may depend on the art and on the audience. Perhaps it is the artist’s role to tap into the emotions of the…
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Theft in Point
Ever wonder what art thieves do with stolen priceless art? Me too. You can’t buy a home, car or anything tangible with the stolen art. Its not currency. Why rob a museum when you can rob a bank? The security is similar. Most major works stolen can never be displayed anywhere. They can’t be easily…
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Sketchlife
“You can’t do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh.” John Singer Sargent (from Brainyquotes) Sketching is vital to developing artistic vision. For some artists it requires focus and discipline. For others, sketching is the artistic vision. As sketching evolves by the hand of the later, it gains an energy and drama…