357: Look Until You See
“CAN’T you see the red in that shadow?” I was taking a painting workshop at the Grand Canyon from one of America’s preeminent landscape ...
Category: philosophy
353: Talking About Paintings
REALIST ARTISTS believe their work explains itself. They think what the viewer sees and feels is adequate. I sympathize with such ideas. But artists who can exp...
325: Our Dream World
–WHY do people like paintings? Why do they hang them in their homes and offices and travel to see museum exhibits? More people attend museums and galleries than...
324: The Difficult Truth
–I recently came across a video by Jeffrey R.Watts that had a lot of valuable information, especially for young artists. Watts spoke candidly about wh...
322: My New York Adventure
–RECENTLY I was a guest on the Zion Art Society podcast, with Dr. Micah Christenen, and was asked about my experience as an illustrator in New York Ci...
321: The Privilege to Experiment
–WHEN you learn about the techniques of fellow artists, you come across suggestions that have the ring of truth, such as painting is nothing more than putting t...
302: Neither a Conformist nor a Rebel
–FOR years I resisted using a palette knife simply because a famous local artist used the knife exclusively and I didn’t want to be viewed as a follower o...
294: The Art Paradox
IS ART the most important aspect of human culture? Or is it of no importance at all? Many might deem such extreme perspectives unnecessary claiming the importan...
271:Why we like what we like
WHILE I was painting my newest acrylic I reflected on the impulses that drive us to find our particular styles. Although on a certain level my oil painting...
244: Poetry and Power
AS ARTISTS why do we express ourselves the way we do? When I was younger I played in a rock band. One evening we were playing to a full house at the aptly named...
238: The Mechanics of Beauty
I was walking along the foothills of my neighborhood and reflecting on how a large tract of untouched land at the eastern edge of our community has recently bee...
232: Tectonic Shift
Tectonic Shift, 10″ x 10″, acrylic on canvas There comes a time in every artist’s journey when major changes are inevitable. Usually it’...
228: Kinds of creativity
Much of the discussion of art is plagued with false dichotomies. Is realism the only legitimate art form, or is abstraction? There are at least two types of cre...
219: Make your [own] mark
Recently I’ve been impressed with the absolute necessity of developing a unique style. While it’s tempting to follow a current fad–especially if it ...
214: Creative contrast
Islands on the Bear River, 13″ x 23″, acrylic on canvas While studying deliberate practise I’ve come to realize that a critical aspect of lear...
213: State of the Art Market
Trinchera Sky, 11″ x 11″, eight color woodcut I get many emails covering a wide range of topics. A recurring question is how the art market is doing...