Einstein once said, "The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of the religious worshiper or the lover; the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart." He makes his point very well in this succinct sentence, finding no need for using more words than that to explain his thoughts and ideas. This is the very essence of "ART".

Through this "economy" with vocabulary Einstein succeeds in engaging his audience in what he is saying. Each individual has to find a path through the few words he uses to assemble their own version of the conclusion he is drawing out. Engaging the audience this way is, in my estimation, the ultimate goal of an artist.

A good sentence or paragraph, being the result of the art of wordsmithing, is just like a painting or a piece of music or dance. More often than not in these times, it's the final result of a great deal of effort, thought, research, time, and more. We sit down to the task and work at it until we get it right. (Most often this is because we suffer under a great deal of distractions). But if you read Einstein's quote again it seems certain that he didn't have to labor over it so. In fact it reads like it spilled out of his mouth one morning over coffee.

The greatest creative minds among us never have to work so hard on the multitude of "art" they leave to us in their wake . They actually "become" their craft and the rest is a matter of course. A great guitar player hears what he wants to play in his mind and his fingers fall where they need to on the guitar to make the necessary sounds. But in order to do this he must first learn his instrument so well that it becomes an extension of himself, or visa versa. His "art" becomes, not his skill with his instrument, but the manifestation of what's in his mind.

We're all capable of great things. If your economy with vocabulary is strong, then your thoughts and ideas spill out with little effort, freeing your mind to explore your ideas in greater depth. If you paint enough trees, you begin to know trees intimately well and can render them with less effort and detail. Unless the tree is your subject it doesn't need all of that tedious attention to detail, lest it distract you, (and by extension, your audience), from your true point. And that's when you actually begin to "engage" your audience in the piece. They can "wander" into it and fill in the blanks with thoughts from their own perspectives and current paradigms.

More thoughts on abstract art

I tend to ramble in areas I'm exploring and I had another thought to add to my blatherings on abstract art. I'm reminded of my college days when we would get together in small groups and begin down a long path of conversation knowing not where it would lead, but anxious for the experience of the journey. Lots of those conversations would end up at some wildly bizarre conclusion that made perfect sense to us, but would sound ridiculous to anyone who wasn't along for the ride. Imagine a statement like, "well of course boats were designed for security!" It might make perfect sense to you if you had been involved in the train of thought that preempted the conclusion. But stumbling in at the end leaves you both confused and a wee bit "left out".

Abstract art often does this very thing. And the fact that it does this is usually rationalized by the artist as being part of the experience they intended for you. But the truth of the matter is they can't or won't be bothered retracing the steps that brought them there. On top of that, they might even take pride and credit for causing this reaction to their piece. The trouble lies in the fact that their intentions probably did not include that reaction when they began creating it. But as I like to say, "what's a good day without at least one rationale?"

Abstract Art, "What's the meaning of this?"

I've been exploring my thoughts around abstract art and I've decided to begin sharing them in my blog in the hope of getting some exchanges that might shed some more light on the matter.
In my estimation any creative manifestation is the product of a process, . . . a journey.

What I mean by "journey" is this. It begins with a thought. The thought begins to swirl around in the artist's head and begins to take shape. More shapes and transformations of the thought are added to it as it becomes a "train of thought". After this sort of deliberation goes on for a while a conclusion is reached and the piece is concieved in the artist's mind. It might be completely different or even unrelated to the original thought but wouldn't exist without having been bourne of that original thought. That's a journey. We all experience them, artist or not.

Nowhere in art is this more apparent than in the realm of the abstract. I think it's because of the journey that we are in the least intrigued, (if we are), by a piece. And, actually, nothing could be more artistic than successfully expressing that journey as well as the destination in the final piece.

One of the things I have a hard time drinking in is a piece or an entire body of work by an artist who, quite obviously, never bothered to learn even the most basic tenets of art before they began. One could argue that proper perspective applied to a chair which is integral to the point of the piece is irrelevant and would even distract or alter the viewer's perception, but I haven't been convinced of that yet. (what's a day without at least one good rationale huh?) It seems to me a lazy or shortcut approach for an artist to skip over those tenets. Even if you learned them and discarded them in the creation of a piece, it would still be evident that you had them in your artistic toolbox.

Other pieces might seek simply to portray the mood of the artist when the piece was created, through color and form, etc. Not much wrong with that either, but to base an entire body of work on that process alone seems a little forced after a few pieces. In other words, after a few successful pieces in that vein the artist is stuck with nowhere new to go because they have no other tools for the exploration. (just my perspective to date. I'm willing to learn).

We've gotten well into December now and my time has been swallowed up by my community based volunteer efforts. I haven't been able to create anything new for a while now and the cultural pressures of the Holidays are doing their level best to keep it that way. I am, however, enjoying the creation of some digital art in the arena of pet portraiture. I have managed to become quite adept at creating a formal portrait from a snapshot. Being a pet lover, I am drawn into the process all the further by the client's exhuberant response to the finished piece. These pieces are most commonly printed on canvas and gallery wrapped which makes for a nicely sized tribute to our beloved friends.

Keuka Lake Art sales still high

Last Summer I completed a painting depicting a historical look at Hammondsport and Keuka Lake. The color palette I used was inspired by paintings I have seen of a similar type and by the antique or "aged" look that is naturally conveyed by warm siennas and umbers. I included a few of the major points of historical interest such as steamboats, Glenn Curtiss' June Bug Aircraft, vineyards, the 115 year old bandstand in the village square, etc.

This, by far, has been and continues to be my most popular piece this year. The reaction was so immediate and overwhelming that, for the first time, I published it in an open edition art poster. The cost was low enough that I could offer it for $20 each. The original sold within two weeks of its completion to a couple from New Jersey. Even as our season slows down here in the finger lakes, this piece continues to sell on an almost daily basis both in the gallery and online.

I enjoyed painting in this style and colorway a great deal which is the biggest bonus! So much so that I'm planning a new piece this winter which will release in Late February.

WINTER SETS IN

It's Thanksgiving day. We've seen weather here on Keuka Lake that we don't typically see until January or February. Snow and cold! I'm in charge of the holiday decorations for the village square in Hammondsport and my time has been spent working on new pieces for that endeavour. Currently I am making a prototype guard tower for life sized toy soldiers. I don't have a picture today of the progress but I'll post one this week as the project progresses. My visions for the holiday on the square include a new toy shoppe for Santa and a sleigh with 9 reindeer sculpted from wood. I will sculpt an elf sitting upon a stump with fiberoptics running through his arm and coming out in his hand to simulate the magic dust he'll be feeding the reindeer.
Cool huh?