How to Fail as an Artist, 4

Before you can fail as an artist, you must look the part.

Let's use the best artistic failure known to man, Jackson Pollock, as an example.

You may know that Pollack, whose elder brother studied art, wanted to be an artist from youth. What you may not know is that he literally dressed in a smock and beret in the best stereotype of a French painter.

Pollack was smart to destroy as much of the photographic evidence as possible, but the photo (right) gives you a fair idea what he looked like.

Naturally, no one was ever going to take him seriously like that, but fortunately Pollack was cultivating a new look by the time he was 20.

The greater part of Pollack's genius was in being timely. American sentiments towards foreigners and foreign culture had taken a decidedly negative turn after WWII, and Pollack was able to fashion a new stereotype of a manly, American artist.

I can easily see him saying, "how do you like that, you f***ing commies?" when his work went overseas. He could not have been a more perfect cultural ambassador for the States.

So take a lesson from the master and always suit your look to the times. It would not be going too far to have a microprocessor embedded in your forehead just now. Maybe a few LEDs. Think about it.

Late

Ok, so I'm having trouble getting it together to do a post this week. I'm all hormonal. Sue me.

So instead, I give you this picture that I made from a failed attempt at photographing birds at a feeder.

Next week we'll have another 'how to fail as an artist.' Look forward to it!

New year's resolution update

So how's the New Year's Resolution coming?

I set a pretty big goal for myself - doubling the amount of time I work on ink painting. In order to accomplish this, I am trying to come up with strategies to help me work at it longer.

I have been doing physical exercises to help cope with working on the floor sitting in seiza (Japanese style.) These are really starting to pay off. I can sit much longer without pain now, but I am still working on a low table hoping that it will make me more comfortable and perhaps increase my accuracy.

The main barrier I am going to have to deal with for a while is the lack of paper. I am currently rationing to make my paper last until at least Spring. Hopefully, I will be able to afford a good supply of paper by then or work could grind to a halt.

I won't be totally stopped at that point because I am saving pieces like the picture on the right so that I can work on learning to do washes and mounting the pieces for hanging.

Until I can get in a steady supply of paper, I am going to be limited in how much I can do in a day. I am going to supplement that as much as I can with pencil studies, art history, and any other forms of training that I think might help.

Today...

Today, simply a nice picture by a fellow called Hashimoto. I'm perfectly happy today to leave aside any consideration of art criticism, symbolism, or gender issues and simply take this one at face value. Enjoy.

Just a Little

I am finally starting to get the hang of mums. It is taking longer than I would have hoped (but not longer than expected) to develop my skills with the sumi brsuh. I guess it doesn't help that I'm making myself do it the hard way, but that's just how I roll ^^

Still, I am developing my arm, slowly but surely, and hopefully I'll continue to come up with better strategies for improvement.

Right now I'm working on a lot of traditional stuff just to develope form and technique, but eventually I will have to create my own style, and that's what I'm looking forward to.

How to Fail as an Artist, Painterly Edition 2

So we have already established that painting is dead. What, then, is a painter to do?

The answer, it turns out, is remarkably simple. If painting is dead then you must revive it by painting in a way that no one else has.

Although the answer is simple, finding a method of painting that no one has ever used before is pretty hard when you consider what has already been done.

Pollack hired some models to roll around covered in paint in front of a watching group of the wealthy and well known. Painting with models took on a whole new meaning, and I kinda wish I had a picture ^^

People with physical disabilities have been painting with their toes and mouths for years, so that's out.

In the 90's some people started painting with their asses (see photo). That was amusing enough to make it on to MTV if I recall.

Someone also made a splash by painting with poo, but I have to burst their bubble - poo was tried in paint going back to cavemen. Tre passe. And forget Pee - you don't want to copy Warhol.

One of the most interesting recent innovations is a Chinese painter who uses the fiery stuff they put in fireworks to paint with. I haven't been able to find video of it yet, but if you go through Art 21's youtube channel, you might find it and will definitely see something interesting: http://www.youtube.com/user/art21org

SO, if you just toss out all the normal methods and some of these more outlandish ones, you get a good base to start creating your very own patented painting method. What will you try? You could cover yourself in tin foil, call down the aliens, and start painting with planets. You might find a way to alter local water supplies so that you can turn people different colors (evil genius cackle can be inserted at any point there.)

Whatever you do, do it fast - or someone else will do it first and you be back to square one. Because painting is dead, and the only way to be a painter today is to do something completely different and call it a painting.

New year's resolution time

Well, another years has come and gone, and it is time once again to make a Resolution.

My resolution this year is all about painting. I have been working with traditional Asian painting materials for the past few months and really enjoy it. I will sheepishly confess now that I was never able to like oil painting enough to do it every day, but this time it's different.

I like these materials enough to paint with ink every day, and my Resolution is to double the amount of time I spend working on it. Right now, I spend about 3-4 hours every day, but there are some barriers to conquer before I can double it.

Firstly, this type of painting is much more physically demanding than Western painting or drawing which can generally be accomplished seated comfortably. Sitting properly (with one's legs folded under the bum) *and* leaning forward to paint can get quite painful, so I am currently putting a table together that will allow me to sit straight. Hopefully, that along with certain exercises will help me to double the amount of time I can stay in position and keep painting.

I'll post a picture when the table is sanded and stained. I hope it heps, because I really like this kind of painting to want to do more everyday until I get really good at it.

And what is your resolution this year?