Mooney 1995 - 2007

We love you and we miss you so much Mister Moose. You will hold a special place in our hearts forever. I remember when you lived here and you got to stay up late with the "big cats," how you loved to play with dental floss, and how you had to get right in Enzo's face. It hurts so bad to have to say goodbye to you now. It's such a sad day. Peace be with you, Mooney.

Michael Moore Interview

My parents alerted me to this. There's an interview with Michael Moore about his new movie, Sicko, on AlterNet. Sicko is about the state of healthcare in the United States, or the lack thereof. The movie recently debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, and is due to be released here on June 29th. I'm a big Michael Moore fan, and I'm looking forward to seeing his latest.

The Art of Buying Art

The Art of Buying Art: An Insider's Guide to Collecting Contemporary Art is a just released book by Paige West of Mixed Greens in New York. She offers tips on where to go to buy original art, what questions to ask, how to negotiate the price, and how to build an art collection. It sounds like a great book for beginning art collectors.

New Work, Old Work

I want to share a paragraph about new work from the book Art and Fear:

"In routine artistic growth, new work doesn't make the old work false -- it makes it more artificial, more of an artifice. Older work is ofttimes an embarrassment to the artist because it feels like it was made by a younger, more naive person -- one who was ignorant of the pretension and striving in the work. Earlier work often feels, curiously, both too labored and too simple. This is normal. New work is supposed to replace old work. If it does so by making the old work inadequate, insufficient and incomplete -- well, that's life . . . Old work tells you what you were paying attention to then; new work comments on the old by pointing out what you were not previously paying attention to. Now this would all be smooth and lovely, except that new work can turn to old work in an instant -- sometimes, indeed, in the instant immediately following the work's completion. Savoring finished work may last only an eye-blink. This is certainly unpleasant -- but it's a good sign."

This is a good sign? Oh. I thought it was some sort of defect in me. The hard part is selling old work that has lost my interest, because I'm on to something new. I find it difficult to talk up the old work. I think that's part of why artists find it so much easier to let someone else do the selling for them.

Forest Spirit

There's a really beautiful video of artist Robert Genn painting plein aire on YouTube. He said he's been using M. Graham acrylics lately, and finds that they have a longer open time than Golden with a similar pigment load. I'm heavily invested in the Golden line, but I must admit that I'm intrigued by the M. Graham acrylics. I'll live vicariously for a bit. Let me know if you try them!

Living Green

I recently discovered several interesting blogs of people who are taking steps to live a more ecologically balanced life, some in the city, some in less urban areas.

The first is Little Blog in the Big Woods, written by "Greenpa." Greenpa lives in a log cabin in the woods, but he writes his blog for everyone -- city dwellers and country folk alike. He hasn't had a refrigerator for thirty years, and offers information on living off the grid.

Then there's No Impact Man, written by Colin Beavan. For one year, he, his wife, and their two-year-old daughter are attempting to live, in the middle of New York City, without making any net impact on the environment. No trash, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, and no toilets. The only electricity they use is generated by one solar panel to power their laptop computer.

Rachel Kessel of San Francisco writes a blog called The Compact. She's part of a very large Yahoo discussion group also called The Compact whose aims are 1) to go beyond recycling, 2) to reduce clutter and waste, and 3) to simply lives. Rachel hasn't bought anything new in two years, except underwear, which she broke down and purchased recently.

I find this fascinating. It never occurred to me that I could live without a refrigerator.

Playing Hooky

I snuck off for a few hours yesterday to go see a movie -- Waitress, with Keri Russell and Andy Griffith. It was cute, and the pies looked fabulous!

It was interesting that Janna (played by Keri Russell) channeled her creativity into making pies. It occurred to me that pies are an easier sell than fine art. Is it likely that there wouldn't be an appreciative audience for Janna's pies? And yet that happens all the time with art. It makes me wonder why I am driven to create things that most people don't want, need or understand. Maybe I should have taken up something like baking cookies instead. Although you might disagree if you tasted my cookies!

Artist Dilemma #3

You've been painting nonobjective work in this year's trendy colors, and you have the unsettling feeling that there may be more to art than pleasing the masses and sales. You reach way back and try to remember why it was that you became an artist anyway. Was it a passionate desire to follow the market, or was it wanting to communicate something deeper and more authentic? What would you say through your work if you were in touch with the authentic part of yourself and had the opportunity to express it? Do people's responses to your authenticity matter?

New American Paintings

The deadline for the Pacific Coast edition of New American Paintings is June 30th. New American Paintings is a prestigious publication that features the work of forty outstanding painters in each of its books. They publish six books a year, one for each of six regions. Artists are selected to be in the books by a juror, and the competition is fierce. I know that the odds of making it into the book are slim, but I apply every year, anyway. Hope springs eternal!

Who Gets to Call it Art?

I want this DVD! Who Gets to Call it Art? is a documentary about the 1960s New York art scene. Here's the product description from Amazon.com:

"Who Gets to Call it Art? is a wild ride through the fascinating 1960s New York art world, seen through the eyes of first "contemporary art" curator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Henry Geldzahler. Never-before-seen footage of artists including Andy Warhol, Jasper Jones and Roy Lichtenstein as well as exclusive interviews with artists Frank Stella, David Hockney, and James Rosenquist provide a vibrant and entertaining look at ten amazing years when American artists challenged everything and forever changed the world of art."

Christie's Auction Video

This is interesting . . . it's a video of the Christie's auction of Warhol's Green Car Crash last Wednesday night. I've never seen a Christie's art auction before. There were two people bidding against each other until the price reached $61 million, and one of the bidders dropped out. The auctioneer was about to close the sale when Larry Gagosian, a new bidder, jumped in and upped it to $61.5 million. But ultimately Larry lost to the other telephone bidder, whose identity has not been disclosed. It's not exactly an action-packed video, but it's interesting, nonetheless.

Kuler

I first heard about Kuler on Henry Domke's Healthcare Fine Art blog. Thanks for tipping me off to this, Henry! Kuler is a free web application for choosing color schemes developed by Adobe Labs. It's easy to use, fun to play around with, and has the potential to be incredibly useful in developing artwork. See what you think.

Color Forecasting

There are two organizations that provide seasonal and annual color forecasts, The Color Association and Pantone. For $650 The Color Association will sell you the 2008-2009 Interiors/Environmental Color Forecast, and for $275 Pantone offers the PantoneView Home + Interiors 2008.

You might wonder how these two organizations are able to predict what colors will be in style. It doesn't work that way. They dictate the colors. Many manufacturers subscribe to one of these two forecasting services, and they produce their products in the "predicted" colors. That's why in any given season, clothes in almost every store are the same colors. And the same is true of furniture, wallpaper, paint and other interior design products.

The question is, should art follow these trends?

Christie's Auction

I cannot believe the prices paid for artwork at the Christie's Auction on Wednesday night. Almost everything sold for more than the high estimate, for a total of $384.6 million. It set a record for the most successful sale of contemporary art ever. $71,720,000 for Warhol's Green Car Crash, pictured above. That's an incredible amount of money for a single piece of art.

Artist Dilemma #2

You are advised that the color palette for 2008 will be polar bear buff, snow white, ice blue, and bright sun yellow, and the theme will be the polar ice caps because of people's concern about the environment and global warming. Yet you have a strong urge to paint using deep dark eggplant, luscious magenta, and cerulean blue. Do you follow your heart, or do you set your desire aside and follow the market?

This is a tough one. On the one hand, I'm not painting so that my work can languish in oblivion and be stored stacked against my living room walls. I want people to like my work and to purchase paintings. On the other hand, I find it difficult to paint someone else's vision.

What's an artist to do?

Artist Dilemma #1

You recently completed a body of work, and the response was lukewarm. What motivates you to start on a new body of work?

This is one of the difficulties of being an artist. I work alone in my studio everyday, in isolation. I don't know what the response to my work will be until I unveil an entire series, either by doing a show or by doing a mailing.

I can ask my friends what they think, but most of them don't really know about art and the art world. They say that my work looks great, because they know me and they like me. The reaction of people who don't know me is different.

I've never before had a job where my work wasn't valued and appreciated. Sometimes the art world is kind and accepting, and sometimes it's not. Without a doubt, this is the most challenging job I've ever had.

Manual of Contemporary Art Style

Here's a funny book. The Pablo Helguera Manual of Contemporary Art Style is a tongue-in-cheek guide for artists, curators, and critics. I guess it's a spoof of an Emily Post type of book, but the thing is, a lot of it is true. It's hard to tell where the joke ends and where reality begins. Here's a quote from the introduction that I thought was funny:

"Art is an uncommon profession, one that is best defined as an entrepreneurial religion. This is because it offers the possibility of spiritual fulfillment but at the same time it operates like any other enterprise of our capitalist world. When the novice initiates his relationship with art, he tends to see it as a spiritual calling, but secretly awaits a personal and financial remuneration that goes beyond internal fulfillment. When such remuneration is not received, it is replaced by great perplexity, distress, and bitterness. Hence, those who enter the art world emphasizing the spiritual over the pragmatic tend to become quickly disappointed, while those who go in pragmatically and with little concern for spiritual fulfillment are the ones who integrate in the field with greater ease."

Entrepreneurial religion? I laughed out loud when I read that, but it's so true. The sad part about this book is that you begin to see that artists really are only pawns in the art world game. It's also amazing to think about how many peoples' livelihoods depend on the work of artists.

Check this book out and see what you think.

Boundless Gallery

Boundless Gallery is a new website for showing and selling art. You can search for art by color, size, price or category, and once you find a piece you like, you can view it in various rooms. "View In a Room" is a neat trick that I haven't seen on any other art websites, and it's fun to play with. Artists can list their work for free, and pay a commission on any sold pieces. The website is really well done. Check it out!

Zen Blues Revisited

I thought I was done with this painting, but evidently not. Here's how it looks now. I think it's done, but who knows? I may see it differently tomorrow.



This underpainting is kind of fun.

Zen Blues

Here's how this piece turned out. I call it Zen Blues, and it's 30" x 24". The blue colors remind me of indigo, and it has a Japanese feel to it. You can see an earlier incarnation of it here.

Alternatives for Selling Art

Over on Edward Winkleman's blog they're talking about alternative venues for selling art. It's an interesting dilemma. If you veer too far off of the beaten path of the commercial gallery system, mainstream venues will reject you as not being a "serious artist." But the commercial gallery system isn't open to everyone. So what do you do while you're waiting for Gagosian to call? See what Winkleman and the people who have commented on this post have to say.

PaintersNYC

Do you follow the PaintersNYC blog? The work of a different artist is posted everyday, mostly those currently showing in New York City. It's a great way to get a feel for what's happening in the art world, and looking through the archives is like a catalog of every significant artist in New York.

The painting pictured above is "Sanctuary" by New York artist Hope Atherton.

Painting the Spirit of Nature

Painting the Spirit of Nature is a beautiful book by Maxine Masterfield. Her focus is unusual techniques for the abstract representation of nature using watercolors and inks. I don't use either of those media, but I still find the ideas and her paintings inspirational. Unfortunately the book is out of print, and used copies are expensive. Every now and then I'll see one available for under $20. Snap it up if you find it at a reasonable price!

Textured Painting

I'm experimenting with molding paste, and I like the way this piece turned out. It's 24" x 24". I'm thinking of doing some landscapes with molding paste in the foreground to resemble geographical detail.

Palette Paper

The palette paper always turns out good! Why can't I get my paintings to look like this?

Crackle Paste

Have you tried Golden's Crackle Paste? It gives an interesting look. In my test piece above, the areas with the larger cracks are where the crackle paste was thicker, and the areas with the finer cracks are where it was thin. After it was dry, I painted it with a green glaze so the cracks would show more clearly. Fun stuff!

New Work

I'm starting on a new body of work, but I'm still in the experimental phase. I love the way this underpainting turned out.


Then I put a layer of lifted paint over part of it, and it completely obscured the underpainting.


So I let it dry a bit, and then I took the hose to it. Here's how it looks now, after being hosed down.


Better, but what next? It needs something more, but I haven't figured out what yet.

Healthcare Fine Art

I'm the featured artist on Henry Domke's Healthcare Fine Art blog today! Thanks, Henry!

The Pleasure Trap

The Pleasure Trap is a fascinating book by Doug Lisle and and Alan Goldhamer. Doug Lisle also turned it into a DVD, which I like even better. Dr. Lisle explains how evolution, our changing world, and society have conspired to make us crave fat, sugar and salt, and how to make healthier choices. Dr. Lisle is quite funny, which makes the DVD entertaining as well as informational. Highly recommended!

Trestle for Flat Screen TV

Check this out! It's a trestle for a flat screen TV made to look like an artist's easel. How cool is that? It's made by French manufacturer Richelieu, and you can see more on their website.

Everyday

Have you heard about the phenomenon of people who take a picture of themselves everyday -- for years? Every single day.

The best known of these is Noah Kalina, who has been photographing himself everyday for over seven years. He has turned these self portraits into a very beautiful six-minute video that you can see on YouTube.



It's a fascinating commentary on change, an underlying sameness, and aging.

Home Movies

I recently discovered that I can put videos of my cats on YouTube! These are like bad home movies from the 1950s, but they're fun to do. I spend half the day surreptitiously stalking the cats with my digital camera, hoping to catch them in some adorable behavior. Most of the time they stop whatever they're doing when they see me, so it's not easy. I have to be stealth.

Here's a classic 24-second clip of Nelson and Luci playing through the slats on the glider. Luci lives next door, but hangs out at my house all day. Wouldn't you?



And check out this 21-second video of Sashi screaming in the bathroom. I have no idea why she does this.



This 1 minute 5 second one of Alex and Nelson is really cute.



I can send links to all of my friends so they can see my bad home movies, and everyone on YouTube can watch them as well . . . not that anyone does. This is just way too much fun!

You can see all of my cat videos on my YouTube page.