Validating a mimetic art

Long before the camera and its progeny, Modernism, spat on verisimilitude in painting, the Art Academies had discredited portraiture.  The special irony of the genre is that, though it can’t seem to earn respect in elitist circles, everyone is flattered to be a model.

Art I like

Portland artist William Park painted this self-portrait in 2003.  I look at his work, along with the work of many other artists, to learn more about what I do. 

The fine art of presenting your work

The promotion of your work is more important than creating excellent work. 

A Native American George Washington

A study in “inhabiting the enemy.”

I (never) made a painting from this sketch.

Well, actually, I did make the painting, but I didn’t document it, so I may as well never have made it.

If you don’t document your work, you never made it.

This wasn’t always the case, but in today’s world of digital information it’s a fact of artistic life. 

Words, words, words…

Using words with images is tricky.

What’s wrong with this picture?

While portraits (and images in general) sometimes have more to say about their creators than their models, pictures probably reveal still more about their viewers than about anyone else.

How to build a stretcher

It isn’t as difficult as it may seem, and the work is well worth it in order to have a painting precisely the size you want it to be.

Portraits don’t just get painted.

Behind every painted face you see, there are only five possible motivating factors.

When does repeating oneself become a style?

And when does a style become repeating oneself?

On causing revolution

Art should be good-looking, but it should do more than decorate…it should invigorate.

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