New Year's Art Resolutions for 2012

With the New Year right around the corner, this is the time I usually start soul searching for what I want, what I need, what I can do without and how to get it all done.

That’s right its resolution time and I always take it serious, aiming for self-improvement and happiness, while remaining clear- minded and realistic, making sure not to fall into that trap of setting the New Year’s resolution bar too high, only to fall short.... like so many seem to do.

I usually start out by making a list of all my grievances for the year, the type of things that I actually have some kind of control over, and can change with a little hard work and discipline. Apparently this has been a tough year as I’m already on my third page of gripes with no end in site. Guess I got my work cut out for me in 2012.

But with regards to my art for 2012, I would like to focus on the one thing that has frustrated me the most this year, rendering the human figure. Still enamored from my trip to Italy, the Italian masters have opened my eyes to artistic spiritually at its finest, with the human figure as a key component for expressing the passion in ones heart, nothing would please me more then to be able to capture that spirit in my work.

So as I was saying, it looks like I have my work cut out for me for 2012 !

Happy painting and  New Year !

Photo Shop a place to let my imagination run amok.

Sometimes I get into a funk and run out of creative ideas. One way I’ve found to elevate this trouble is to muddle around with Photo Shop. (which I'm not really good at but like to muddle anyway )

I like to think of Photo Shop a place to let my imagination run amok.


I usually start with a general concept, then in a collage like fashion I use my original photography mixed with an endless supply of material on the net, which I find far less taxing when exploring the depths creativity.

Eliminating the costs and confines of oil painting on canvas can be quite liberating, but the ultimate goal here is to inspire innovative imagination for the fabrication of uniquely creative oil paintings in the future.

The Academic Process (part 3 of 3)

The Academic Process (part 2 of 3)

The Academic Process (part 1 of 3)

Art quote of the day

It's so fine and yet so terrible to stand in front of a blank canvas.
-Paul Cezanne

The Psychoanalyst and the artist

I picked up this interesting little book at the Westfield book sale last week and I have to say, for a little book it packs a heck of a punch.

Although I’m only half way into reading the book, I’m already quite intrigued as to the depths in which the Psychoanalyst will go to dissect the artist’s conscious and subconscious thought process.

Apparently there’s a lot more going on inside the subconscious mind of an artists then I could have ever imagined. And although I may not agree with some of the authors theories, there are many here worth exploring that may help to understand art in general and perhaps even unlock some creativity in my own work.

Here is a description of the book with a few passages I found insightful, pertaining to what it is to be an artist.

The major discovery of The Psychoanalyst and The Artist, which pursued clues Freud left us, was and is that human talent-genius configurations have the distinctly and exclusively human capacity - in an infinite number of ways - of 'turning a true dream inside out' and superimposing it and weaving it or interweaving it with the strands of the reality of our everyday life. Hence, in great art (or in quite another way in great science) we 'identify' and 'thrill to the comprehension at all articulate and inarticulate levels' of the thus .universalized dream presented in whatever medium of the seven arts and the innumerable divisions of human sciences.. .Talent has this ability in a dilute and occasional way. Genius possesses it in a steady torrent, though at times blocked and even twisted with frequently disastrous personal consequences, e.g. suicide.

Parallel to this distinction between intent and result is another distinction that must be drawn in the interest of defining what is treated here as art, the product of true artist. A true artist is an interpretive artist, consistently devoting his life to the exquisite and enduring expression of his own individual reality in relation to his world.

Yes you are an artist if you have an awareness of the unconscious and are sensitive to dreaming, above all aware of and sensitive to your own impermissible impulses and impossible ideas; if you Can quite shamelessly and vividly dream in symbols of great economic power; if you can weave together the radiances of those symbols (by design in what ever medium) in such a way and with such an interpretive relationship to reality that you create the elusion of something alive and something manifold so that each who comes to look at, listen to or touch your work feels himself caught in your dream-become-art; if he is stimulated and relieved via identification with your characters or symbolic objects, as you yourself were, in physical pleasures varying from relaxation to orgasmic experience, in spiritual enjoyment of the tragic , comic or contemplative.
But this answer is really only preliminary.

Still life in progress

Just a few things I need to ask myself, while I'm oil painting.

Why am I painting this?

What do I like about it?

What am I trying to say with this painting?

What story am I trying to tell?

What emotions am I trying to stir up?

Am I stepping back often enough to see what the heck I'm doing?

Am I painting the light?

Am I paint all the reflective light?

Am I painting the shadows?

How is the perspective?

Are the values correct?

Is the composition pleasing?

Does the painting read well?

Have I defined a focal point?

Is the color rich enough in the focal point?

Are my contrasts strong at the focal point?

Am I working the contrasts of hard and soft edges?

Am I working the contrasts of hot and cold color?

Am I working the contrasts of thick and thin paint?

Am I working the contrasts of opposite colors?

Am I working the contrasts of darks and lights?

Flip the painting upside down and take a good look at it, is it still balanced?

Look at it in the mirror, does it still look good or is something off?

Is my palette getting too muddy?

Are my brushes over loaded with paint?

Did I take this painting as far as I could today?

Should I stop before you mess it up?

Why the heck am I painting this again?

Still life shadow box

To give more depth to my still life paintings, I’ve made a simple still life shadow box.

Using a 24"x 15" cardboard box, I spray painted the inside with a medium flat gray primer. The clamp on light can be moved around to create all sorts of interesting cast shadows which I believe give a painting its depth.

LWW Plastic Human Skull, Numbered-A21 Review

To assist with my cast and anatomy drawing studies, I’ve decided to buy the LWW Plastic Human Skull, Numbered-A21. After reading all the reviews I got the impression that most artists were disappointed with the cheap skulls on the market, as they were poorly constructed with little detail and more suited for Halloween decoration then anatomy study. So its worth it to spend a little more for accurate anatomy.


I have to say the LWW Plastic Human Skull, Numbered-A21 is well constructed, has a good solid feel and weight with lots of detail. The teeth even look real. This is a medical study skull and definitely not a cheap Halloween prop. I got it at Amazon for $144.95 plus 11.50 shipping. Its made by Anatomical Chart Company and shipped by BBhealthy. It shipped quickly and it was very well packed.

Art quote of the day

"Everything Worthwhile, Everything of Any Value, has a Price. The Price is... E F F O R T" ~Loretta Young

Reflecting on my trip to Italy, Saint Peters’s Basilica

Saint Peters’s Basilica

And nothing I’ve seen up until this point in my life could have prepared me for what my eyes were about to see. Saint Peters’s Basilica at the Vatican is truly overwhelming.

My experience there was quite spiritual and a bit difficult to put into words but I’ll give it a shot.

Saint Peters’s Basilica is a place, where if the walls could talk they would speak volumes, but the voices weren’t coming from the walls. They were coming from with in my heart, as I could literally feel the presence of God flowing through the passionate labor and heavenly creations adorning this vast testament to the Catholic faith.

I slowly walked with trepidation trying to comprehend the enormity of my setting. Engulfed in such immense beauty is startling at first and my only mental reference for comparison, would be to have all the people I’ve ever loved and lost together in the same room.

A life time of their memories began to swirled inside of me. I miss them all so dearly and my heart grows heavy as I reflected upon their final days of suffering. Tears pooled in my eyes as I began to feel that big lump you get in your throat just before your about to cry. Then like a gift from heaven an enormous sense of relief washed over me, and I knew in my heart that they were all in a better place. With no more pain, they are at peace. A heavy weight was lifted from my heart replaced with a sense of joy..... I began to smile.

I may have appeared incredibly small walking through Saint Peters’s Basilica that day, but with each step I felt closer to divine knowing that in some small way, I too am part of God's immaculate plan.

I never felt more humbled.

I never felt more alive.

Oil paintings from vacation pictures, Italy

I took a ton of pictures while on vacation it Italy with the good intention of producing some oil paintings from them, so while my other painting dries I thought it would be a good idea to get a move on in that direction.


I started this painting in a loose impressionist manner and I may break the brush strokes up even more but I think I’ll wait till it dries before I make my decision.

rendering with light, shadow and color

I started a new painting this morning. After getting the basic idea for this painting, I worked out the composition with some small thumbnail sketches.This made it easier for me to sketch it out on the 16"x 20" canvas.

I’ve been reading Dan McCaw’s book this week “A Proven Strategy for Creating Great Art”. Dan’s method for rendering with light, shadow and color have been very helpful. I’m sure I will look at the development of my future paintings with his advice in mind.

Irene hits New Jersey

Life gets in the way of art or should I say "Irene" got in the way this time . No water in the house just downed trees in my yard. One of my trees fell on my neighbors house and one of hers fell on top of the one that fell on her house....what a mess!  I consider myself very lucky just minimal damage and a whole lot of clean up. So many people in New Jersey lost so much .

Natural directional lines

In this painting I’m trying to emphasized the natural directional lines of the photo, along with the strong contrast between dark and light colors to draw the viewers eye into the canvas.

Lawrence Block

Dreams are like stars...you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny.


Lawrence Block

Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes

Netherlands series of oil paintings

I forgot to mention that this series of paintings will be from photographs my sister- in-law took while on a business trip in the Netherlands. ( Thanks Jenny, great camera work ! )

I started this painting incorporating the same techniques as the last.

Liquin to get a water color affect

I used the Golden palette of colors with the addition of  Daler-Rowney's Yellow Green and Terre Verde. I also uses quite a bit of Liquin which helped to get a water color effect. This is a small painting 6"x 17 1/2".

loose charcoal sketch directly onto the canvas

I’ve been wasting a lot of time painting directly onto the canvas while continually correcting drawing errors with paint. This just go for it attitude has not been a very productive way for me to work at this point in time.


For the next series of paintings I’m going to do a loose charcoal sketch directly onto the canvas, then paint right over it. I figure with the drawing already worked out on the canvas, I won’t have to fuss with proportions. Then I can just dive right into the painting process.

Shut up and go paint something !!

I’ve been checking out some artist blogs on line and I’m inspired yet dumbfounded by the amount of oil paintings some people are capable of producing.


There level of commitment and discipline to art is extremely intense. At times I question my own work ethic and often find myself stewing over the question....am I really doing all that I could ?

I can daydream of oil painting all day, but an 8 hour a day/ 5 day a week job has a way of draining the life out of my antistatic spirit.

By the time I stand toe to toe with the easel, that bolder sized motivation I had at the start of the day has been grinded down to a pebble, leaving me snow blind and confused staring into the abyss of a blank white canvas, forever having to rummage through the depths of my soul for the energy to lift the brush to the canvas....... Uhhhhh... Wait !.......

Lol..... I just read that back......too much drama, I should just shut up go paint something !!

Slow Art

Arthur C. Brooks: The secret to human happiness is earned success

By: Arthur C. Brooks

Part three in a three-part series.

People flourish when they earn their own success. It's not the money per se, which is merely a measure -- not a source -- of this earned success. More than any other system, free enterprise enables people to earn success and thereby achieve happiness. For that reason, it is not just an economic alternative but a moral imperative.

People think that they will be happier if they have more money, but quickly find out that they're mistaken. When people are asked what income they require for a satisfying life, they consistently respond -- regardless of their income -- that they would need an income about 40 percent higher than whatever they're earning at the time.

Benjamin Franklin (a pretty rich man for his time) grasped the truth about money's inability to deliver life satisfaction. "Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it," he declared. "The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one."

If money without earned success does not bring happiness, then redistributing money won't make for a happier America. Knowing as we do that earning success is the key to happiness, rather than simply getting more money, the goal of our political system should be this: to give all Americans the greatest opportunities possible to succeed based on their hard work and merit.

This is the liberty our founders wrote about, the liberty that enables the true pursuit of happiness.

Earned success gives people a sense of meaning about their lives. And meaning also is a key to human flourishing.

It reassures us that what we do in life is of significance and value, for ourselves and those around us. To truly flourish, we need to know that the ways in which we occupy our waking hours are not based on the mere pursuit of pleasure or money or any other superficial goal. We need to know that our endeavors have a deeper purpose.

Free enterprise enables us to find meaningful work through free markets that match our skills and passions. In free markets, we can change jobs, work longer or shorter hours within reason, and take more or less vacation than other people.

Increasingly, we can flex our hours and jump into and out of the work force as our lives and our circumstances change. These free markets largely do not exist in Europe, with their mandated pay and vacation, cradle-to-grave systems of job security, and generous unemployment benefits.

Meaning at work comes from feeling productive. This is how we earn our success and what makes us happy.

People who feel they are productive in their jobs, regardless of pay, are about five times likelier to be very satisfied with their jobs than people who don't feel this way.

Of course, when we are being productive, we often get paid more. But the money is a nice side effect, not the cause of the happiness we enjoy.

Feeling productive does not mean being protected from competition. It means beating the competition through merit and hard work. It does not come from a collective bargaining agreement and the threat to strike, but from a job well done. And it certainly doesn't come from a welfare check. All of this explains why our free enterprise system produces happier workers than in most of Europe.

Americans prefer to find meaning in their jobs rather than through their after-work pursuits and to trade security of employment for the possibilities of earned success. The free enterprise system reflects these American priorities. The policies of the 30 percent coalition do not.

Free enterprise is not simply an economic alternative. Free enterprise is about who we are as a people and who we want to be. It embodies our power as individuals and our independence from the government. In short, enterprise is an act of self-expression -- a declaration of what we truly value -- and a social issue for Americans.

masters studies, to improve observation

I haven’t posted any of my work in a while, so I thought I'd put this up. It started out as a quick masters study, a free hand sketched using burnt sienna oil paint. But after reviewing it the next day it looked awful. So I added white to make some corrections but I still didn’t get it right.


I can see the importance in masters studies, following in the artists footsteps should put you into his mind somewhat and you can focus in on his observation skills first hand.

I’m going to try to do some more masters studies, hopefully with this practice my observation and drawing skills will improve.

Art Mentor......

I had a really strange dream last night that I was being judged unfavorably for my youthful ways by of all people my old high school art teacher..... Like I said it was a really strange dream.


But then I got to thinking ...... I never really had an art mentor as I child.. No one ever took me under there wing and gave me the guidance I needed grow. Sure my parents yelled at me “do this ! don’t do that !” but no one ever really sat me down and said “so you like art do ya kid ? Well here’s what you should be doing, let me show you."

Nope.....I had non of that growing up, not even from my old high school art teacher.

“Who incidently I looked up on Rate My Teachers.com and was not surprised to see he got a very bad review.” Lol !!

So as I try to make sense of this wacky dream, I look back on my youth and I see a kid with a ton of creative energy but little guidance to develop. I was taught nothing about drawing and painting growing up. I had to figure things out on my own and not always with favorable results.

Its taken me a long time to get where I am and I feel I’ve only scratched the surface. With a good artist mentor in my life I wonder where my art would be today. Don’t get me wrong I’m not feeling sorry for myself. But at “forty something” I feel like I’m still painting with the artistic training wheels on !

Anyway..... I guess my point here is if you have an opportunity to share your artistic talents with an aspiring young artist, then by all means do so. It’s a gift worth giving and it guarantees that you’ll never get a bad review on Rate My Teachers.com !

PS

Anything is possible if you believe in yourself, despite your crappy old high school art teacher.

The Barnes Foundation, an interactive tour of some of the old museum’s highlights.

The Barnes Foundation, an extraordinary collection of art amassed by Albert C. Barnes, has been one of America’s strangest art museums from the day its doors opened in 1925. Barnes’s unique juxtapositions of paintings and objects were intended to help the viewer learn to look closely at art. The original building, in Merion, Pa., closed at the end of June — the collection will be relocated to a new one in Philadelphia next year — but The Times has created an interactive tour of some of the old museum’s highlights.

Gesture sketches to loosen up

With life drawing classes starting up soon, I was thinking that I better get busy doing gesture sketches to loosen up.

I remember feeling rushed the last time in class, as a five minute pose can go by in a flash. This I’m sure is due to a lack of practice.

I have to start thinking of the body in terms of shapes like ( cylinders, cones, boxes, barrels, slabs, wedges, circles and eggs ) to give my drawings life.

All the sketches below were done quickly using photo reference. Not to much detail, I’m just looking to capture the pose.

Arts Guild of New Jersey

Inspired by all those Italian Renaissance Masters on my Italy Vacation, I signed up for open studio life drawing classes at the Arts Guild of New Jersey.

The ability to draw from life determines the artist's skill. This is why live drawing classes have always been at the top of the curriculum for properly structured academic workshops. ( Igor Babailov )

LINEA: The Journal of The Art Students League of New York ( PDF FILES )

Publications of The Art Students League - Linea


LINEA is the Art Students League's journal of art and ideas. Published twice a year, each issue contains exhibition reviews, interviews and topical essays of special interest to artists. Also featured is news about the school, its instructors, members and students, as well as information about the ASL Vytlacil Campus in Rockland County. LINEA is distributed to all members and maintains a national circulation to art schools, universities, libraries, museums, art galleries and the press. Click the link below to read the latest edition of LINEA:

I’ve just returned from an amazing vacation in Italy !

It took airplanes, trains , busses ,taxies, ferry boats and a heck of a lot of walking around, but I got to see Salerno, Pompeii, Naples, Capri, Sorrento, Ravello, Amalfi, Positano, Rome, Siena, San Gimignano, Montecatini, Tuscany, Pisa, Florence and Venice !!!!

I made sure to go into every Church, Basilica and museum I could find and I walked out of every one in sheer awe of the talent and passion of the Great Renaissance Masters.

You can read all the art books in the world and it will never prepare you for the colossal size and impeccable detail of Renaissance Art.

As I humbly stood in front of Michelangelo’s last judgment, I found myself over come by a surge of emotions, caught between tears of joy and a profound spiritual awakening... I’ve never felt more alive.

Ancient Roman statue of Venus visits US capital

WASHINGTON (AFP) – One of the best known ancient Roman sculptures, the Capitoline Venus, went on display Wednesday in a museum in the US capital, the statue's first trip ever across the Atlantic.


The nearly two-meter tall (six foot, six-inch) beauty is intact except for the nose, some fingers, and one hand that broke off and was reattached.

"This is the first time we loan a statue so important," said the Director of the Capitoline Museum in Rome, Claudio Parisi Presicce, who accompanied the statue to Washington. "It never went out of the museum voluntarily."

Presicce said that Napoleon Bonaparte took the statue in 1797 and put it in the Louvre museum in Paris, but it was returned in 1816 after Napoleon's downfall.

The full-scale female nude statue was unearthed in the 1670s, where it had been buried beneath a large garden in the remains of a building in Rome.

The statue is also known as the Modest Venus because she attempts to hide her nudity with her hands.

Museum curators have become cautious about displaying nude art since a woman in April attacked a painting by French impressionist Paul Gauguin because she felt it showed nudity and homosexuality. The painting, "Two Tahitian Women," was protected by a transparent acrylic shield and sustained no damage.

"We do have guards posted. We feel assured it will be safe," said National Gallery of Art spokeswoman Deborah Ziska.

The Capitoline Venus will be on display at the National Gallery of Art in the US capital until September 5. It will be in the West Building Rotunda, an area with a design based on the Pantheon in Rome.

"The visitor can walk entirely around the sculpture. It can be seen from any perspective," said the National Gallery's Chief of Exhibitions, Dodge Thomson.

The mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, was also in town to sign a sister-city relationship agreement with Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray.

The Venus exhibit is part of a broader show of art from Roman museums that will be on display through 2013 in major US cities including San Francisco and New York, as well as Toronto, Canada