At the end of the eighteenth century, art flowed along several currents. History painting, the primary current, was in its heyday and remained the undisputed champion until ‘history’ intruded into contemporary events with the French Revolution. This current continued into the middle of the nineteenth century with Delacroix. Another important current used myth to launch…
I knew a writer who wanted to transition from the technical documents that he wrote to pay his bills to fiction. His vision inspired a whole universe; not one novel but a series. He spent what little free time he had as a single dad and technical writer working on his project. I admired his…
Some artists have goals similar to my own. Among these artists are some I find especially sympathetic–my protectors. My protectors are the artists from whom I learn the most. My protector list is different from the artists that influenced me when I was young. My youthful influences include Rodin, Monet, and van Gogh. Of these,…
When I finish the design for a new painting, I’m often tempted to leave it as a large drawing. At 44″ x 56,” the new painting, Liberty Avenue, would be a large drawing. If I actually turned this painting into a drawing, I would most likely finish it with chalk instead of just pencil. Art…
A reader, responding to a recent post, asked if my recurring problem with ‘seeing’ is physical. I do wear glasses these days but no. The seeing I’m describing is seeing with judgment. This is aesthetic judgment that engages beauty. Unfortunately, when most people hear the word “beauty,” they think of Playboy models. While this example…
I have been struggling with a painting for the past week. It was not going as I wanted and it was difficult to “see” it. This “blindness” happens to me periodically. The first few times it happened when I was young, it troubled me a lot. I thought I’d lost my talent. Sudden changes like…
People who are out of step with the prevailing authority practice ketman to avoid trouble. Ketman is a way to dissemble. At a minimum people practicing ketman must self-censor their speech. When silence isn’t enough, ketman-practitioners find ways to appear to actively support the regime. When ketman-practitioners cannot escape the oppressive regime, they develop ways…
Thomas Crow is an American art historian. For a short time, his interests overlapped with mine, which is how I became aware of him. Some readers might know that I am a fan of the French artist J.L David. Early in his career, Crow wrote a book focused on David and his circle, Emulation: Making…