Experts don’t know why households in the $40,000 to $80,000 annual income range are reticent about buying art, but the subject of this portrait does. And so do I.
The story of how my right thumb came to be non-compulsory to my painting process actually starts four years ago in a small black box theater in SE Portland, and not last month on my kitchen floor as I try to stop myself from fainting after slicing my digit to the bone on a can top!
Some people would argue that, like physics, art is a complex human endeavor that requires rigorous training, and, as such, it is justifiably obscure and difficult to understand at times. I think those people are making a silly and rather useless comparison...I wonder if Sandra Rice, the artist behind these figures, would too.
How do you know when you’ve completed a painting?
That’s the traditional logic, but movement has its own kind of force, one which Frans Hals, the painter of this lute player, didn’t ignore.
The implications of images evolve along with the culture which surrounds them, but propaganda always remains, in all the important ways, propaganda and is only ever about inserting a pre-digested visual in a person’s head. Art should be just as good at putting an image in an individual’s head but not one that leaves so little room for thought.
When I discovered PaintYourLife.com, I was horrified, but, try as I might, I haven’t been able to put them out of my head. I get the feeling that it’s more than their catchy title that has me thinking of them.
When we’re young, our faces are smooth: it’s only as we live and grow that we accumulate details. Painting a child’s portrait is difficult specifically because of this lack of detail, and that’s why I started my career by looking at older faces.
This phrase isn’t just a euphemism for “I’m an artist without gallery representation.” It’s a better way of looking at success as a working artist.
There’s only just the one way of defining art. I’m certain of it.
And that isn’t to say it should be easy to make, only that it shouldn’t show signs of struggle.
A camera is every kind of artist’s best friend. I may not be a photographer, but I still like having my camera handy. I’ve found that taking photos is an excellent way for me to train myself to notice details as well as practice designing compositions, both skills that I need for painting.