Models Are Hard To Come By

But Is It Art?

I don't like paintings, but I love pictures! (Overheard recently at the Mayfaire Art Festival in Lakeland)

Outdoor art shows are a great place to hear unedited on-the-fly comments about art. People feel no compunction to reel in their feelings like they would in a museum or gallery. Perhaps they are more at ease in the great American outdoors, nibbling on a giant pretzel, sipping a cold Miller Lite, and perusing art.

Of course, the sun and suds take their toll, and viewers, wanting to impress their friends, suddenly become art experts, and often very loud ones. Artists, for their part, must learn to put up with all kinds of public display, and the art show veterans can easily be spotted. They stand next to their displays, looking slightly bemused, wearing thick coats of Armor All.

Tabula Rasa

Painting should not be a career choice for the faint of heart. Faced with the prospect of paying the bills with art sales, an artist could be forgiven the occasional nagging anxiety; questions that refuse to go away. Where is the market for figurative abstraction? Should I get another part time job? In fact, it's been said that an artist’s success, depends, in part, on the ability to deal with such dilemmas. Acknowledge their presence, but never allow them into the studio.

I know from experience that it is much more than this. There are times when every brush stroke, or every color selection, is proceeded by an interior chorus of nay-sayers, all questioning my ability to make art. I believe I am not alone in this respect, and one definition of both courage and desperation might be ignoring those noisy critics - at least until one more painting gets done.

Ateliers Encore

After a hiatus of several months, while we employed damage control, the Imago Art Group has finally opened its new studio doors. Working in a large space, graciously provided by the City of Dunedin, the artists have, once again, begun their monthly First Friday open house. On May 2 the public will have the opportunity for a close up look at the creative process, an endeavor neither boring or glamorous. The business of art making is a daunting challenge, but ultimately a very fulfilling one.

Imago Art Group is located at 620 Main Street, across from Mease Hospital and behind the Deli News Cafe. Friday, May 2, 6:30-9:00pm. Call 727 733-1688 for more information.

Amazon Seducer

One of my favorite musical groups is the Brazilian percussive ensemble Uakti. Classically trained, they draw inspiration from the rich and varied cultural traditions of that country. The name Uakti itself comes from a fantastic legend of the Amazon Tucano people.

Uakti was a monster with several holes on his body. When he ran across the forest, the wind passing through his body made wonderful sounds. Upon hearing the hypnotic rhythms, the Tucano women were drawn into the forest, where Uakti seduced them. The men became jealous and hunted and killed Uakti. From his burial site, three palm trees grew, which kept his spirit alive.

The musical wind instruments the Tucanos made from the palm trees reproduced the Uakti sound. This painting is how I imagined Uakti might have looked.

Warm-Ups

No artists I know are able to go into their studios and instantly produce art on demand. There is usually a period of time in which they resort to various tactics to jump start their creativity. This can be something as simple as sweeping out the place, or a more inner directed practice like meditation. Only then can they begin the serious business of making art.

I'm a lifelong doodler, a trait that's gotten me bounced from more than one menial job. Nonetheless, early on, I realized the importance of this seemingly innocent habit, and now use doodling to first get going in the studio. I often begin the creative day doing quick gestural drawings for an hour or so, after which time the ground has been prepared for more important work to come. I call this exercise "warm-ups," and above is one I completed this morning.

Wicker Man

One of my favorite English films is the odd 60's release, Wicker Man, that became a minor cult classic, and spawned a recent inferior version starring Nicholas Cage. The original had Count Dracula himself, Christopher Lee, and centered on some pagan folk who lived on an island off the coast of Scotland. A young girl went missing and a devout police inspector goes to the island to investigate. That's when the weirdness begins.

For me, the most arresting image of the movie is the final scene of the burning wicker man. That scene stayed with me for years, and re-emerged as I worked on pieces for an exhibition in 2004. The theme of the show was the body as a vessel, in both a literal and metaphorical sense.

The original movie played up the conflict between Christianity and paganism, but my interest lay in the transformative power of fire. With that in mind, I painted Wicker Man.