Most of modern arts journalism is marketing. One infrequently encounters critical journalism these days. A recent article in Canadian journal The Walrus is pretty typical. The piece, A Portrait of the artist’s Studio, is about the photographer Joseph Hartman’s series of portraits of artists’–Canadian artists–studios. I was not familiar with any of the artists.
The photos are remarkable for what they don’t show. None of the artists are present. And it’s very hard to get a sense of the artists’ work, at least in some of the photos. Otherwise, they are about what one expects. Some artists are very fastidious, while others are total slobs. Jasper Johns said that there are two types of artists, those that are very concerned with where they sit, and those who couldn’t care less.
So, as an exercise in self-promotion, I’m sharing photos of my studio. The paintings are all unfinished, except for The Woman in Purple Boots in the upper-left, which is drying. When it’s dry, I’ll move to storage. Readers know that it’s my habit to work a painting then set it aside and let it dry. So I’m working on any number of paintings at a given time. It’s been my approach from the beginning.
Besides the unfinished paintings, these photos show my two paint cabinets. One three-drawer cabinet contains yellows, greens, and blues. The other contains reds, whites, and earths. Most of my brushes are on the work table. My biggest brushes are not in the photos.The green ledger book is my studio journal where I record my studio activities each day.
