Passion versus Selling

It finally occurred to me why I have loved the works of Vincent Van Gogh my whole life.  He displays such a strength of character because in his prolific career he only sold one piece.  Short of letting this discourage him, he continues on with painting what he loves and showing his intrinsic message of showing his passions for the life around him.  Although he later commits suicide he shows a genuine regard and love for the simple things he paints with such strength and vivid color and line.  His passion can be viewed simply by his brushstrokes and evoking the rhythm and life he works so hard on recreating.  He strives to show how he feels on the inside as a visual communication to anyone and everyone who is viewing his work.  He is never ashamed to show his emotions.

For those of us lucky enough to do what we love for a living, may we flounder forward!  I will never regret my decisions to create, publish and work towards communicating through art!

Impressionism vs color

I have always held a fascination with Impressionism.  As a fifth grade project I did a whole essay on Paul Cezanne.  Who knew that a life long passion for the arts and Impressionism could actually hold throughout a lifetime!  I think the initial reaction to Impressionism and Post Impressionist work is the bold use of color and the fascination with representing light.  This paired with an almost math precision towards the pairing of complimentary color schemes is a recipe for visual delight.  And so as a young person into adult hood this fascination has never dimmed in my mind.

My residencies at The Greater Latrobe High School are always a positive experience simply because the love of the arts is sincerely felt in this unusual high school.  Not only is it a public school system and it also highly supports the idea of creativity, the arts and most importantly the idea that a young student can always be a positive contribution in the art scene.  This coupled with the tremendous support of the Center for Creativity, the MeFeeley and Rogers Foundation is a true recipe that encourages the creative thinker and doer!

I start the residency with a focus towards Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet and always hope the students will feel and appreciate the energy and color that these two artists represent.  We each choose a work we would like to represent with our own emotional and color response to the original work.  I am not asking for a reproduction of the work but do focus on color mixing, composition and often an emotional response to the work itself.  Each student starts with an under
painting and from there we spend our time using brushes, pallet knives, our brains and fortitude to create our works of art.