Announcements And Upcoming Shows

I’ve had a string of good news as of late...

First, I’ve been selected the Southeastern Wildlife Expo’s featured painter for next year — their 30th anniversary. I’ve been participating in SEWE for 7 years now. Given my relatively short time in being a part of the show makes this honor all the more special.

Second, I was invited to participate in Trailside Gallery’s first annual summer miniatures show and sale; Masters in Miniature, to be held at their Jackson, Wyoming location. Trailside is one of the elite western art galleries in the U.S. and represents a number of artists who’s work I greatly admire — several of whom will also be in the miniatures show. To have been invited to be a part of this event is truly an honor.

"Grandstanding", Oil on linen, 11"x14"

"Meadow Mashers" Oil on linen, 10"x12"

And finally, I have again been asked to be a part of the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions Show and Sale. This will be my 6th year and to say I'm excited and moved by the museum’s continued interest in my work would be a gross understatement.

"A Rare Find", Oil on linen, 9"x12"

A Word (or several) About Symbolisim In Art

Symbolism in art. It's both one of art's greatest aspects, and one of its greatest drawbacks. Taken to extremes, the audience is duped into engaging in a pseudo-intellectual goose chase, attempting to decipher the symbolism of a splash of wasted red paint on a white canvas. And at the other end, an over-rendered piece of wall decoration with no intellectual value (or artistic value, for that matter).

Truly great art functions on many different levels, from the initial impact of its beauty, to eliciting an emotional connection from the viewer, to a deeper narrative of symbolism that communicates the artist's ideas, thoughts, feelings or beliefs. Art that excels in all of these areas is not just the product of a skilled artist, but is also the culmination of an artist's life-experiences.

Infusing a work of art with symbolism gives the viewer another opportunity for discovery. An artist who's work and ethic I greatly admire wrote that it's the artist's job to give the viewer direction and it's the viewer's responsibility to make the discoveries — I completely agree. Symbolism in painting enriches those discovers by giving the viewer a bit more about the artist. And if it's executed well, and is based in life-experience, symbolism in one's art can play a vital roll in helping to better the quality of one's work.

As I grow as an artist and a person, I hope to make symbolism a more important part of my paintings. I hope it enriches the experience of viewing my work and gives the art lover an opportunity to better understand me as an artist.

Transending Genre And The Subjective Nature Of Art

This past weekend, I made my second-annual journey to bask in the wondrous glow that is the Masters of the American West show at the Autry Center in Los Angeles, CA. My wife, close friend and artist, Ray Brown, and I spent the better part of Saturday ogling the extraordinary works on display and had several jubilant conversations about the art.

One of those conversations spawned two important (but pretty obvious) realizations that I'd like to communicate here; first, great paintings transcend their subject matter. And second, at the level of work on display at the Masters show, personal preference of one painting (or artist) over another is subjective and has little to do with the quality of the artist's technique or skill.

The first realization came from our collective decision to partake in a little fantasy; What piece of art in the show would each of us take home over all the others if we had the means. My wife made an interesting point, her choice was based not necessarily on what she felt was the most aesthetically pleasing piece, or a painting or sculpture that would best suite the decor of our home, but rather, which work of art she connected with most on an emotional level.

I'm not all that into 'cowboy' or 'Indian' paintings as a genre of art. The subject matter isn't particularly interesting to me. But the painting I chose was a painting of three native Americans on horseback titled, Lost Tracks by Z.S. Liang. For me, this painting was beyond its subject. It transcended subject matter as the greatest of paintings do. I connected with it on an emotional level. It was exquisite and appealed to everything I personally find beautiful in representational painting. Much of Liang's paintings are like this for me, and my wife as well. One of his paintings at the show even made Yvonne a little teary-eyed (and no, she's not allergic to great paintings as she tried to make us to believe).

The artist's ability to create a work that can so deeply affect the viewer is, I think, what we are all striving for as artists. My goal as an artist is not to produce great wildlife or landscape paintings, but instead, is to produce great art. I hope that one day I will be capable of creating a painting that transcends its subject as my wife and I both felt Z.S. Liang's had done.

The second conversation involved Ray and I. We began contemplating who's work might one day take the position of prominence in the show (as you enter, a large Howard Terpning painting greets you) after Howard has passed on — sort of morbid conversation but it wasn't as bad as it sounds here. I think we both agreed that it would likely be one of the great Chinese painters, in particular, Mian Situ. Although, I personally think Morgan Weistling will be in the running.

I mentioned that I actually prefer Z.S. Liang's paintings over Howard's. Ray, as a generalization, preferred Howard's. We had our differing reasons, but in the end, neither one of us could convince the other to switch our preference, because from a purely technical standpoint, the two artists are masters. You can't argue that one is technically better than the other because they're beyond that. It could only come down to personal preference of one artist's style over the other and that is a truly great example of the subjective nature of art — especially when considering Ray and I have very similar taste in art.

There are a number of artists in the Master Show that I feel belong on the 'wall of prominence'. Ray's and my opinion certainly doesn't matter. In the end,  the choice will be somewhat subjective because at this level of painting, personal opinion is all there is left to argue.

To Trade Or Not To Trade? There Is No Question.

I'm an artist, but I'm as much an art lover as I am an artist. Which, at this stage in my career, is a bit of a problem. I'm always broke (relatively speaking) and can't afford to buy original art.

However, being an artist that participates in a number of shows every year, I've finally been graced with a wondrous little perk — other artists that also do these shows, and who's work I admire, are getting interested in my work and the door to trade has been unlocked.

I now have a standing invitation with several artists (who I consider friends) to trade when I find a painting or sculpture of theirs I'm interested in having. What a fabulous opportunity to build my own personal art collection! In fact, at my last two shows, I was approached by several artists interested in trading work. I'd have a number of new pieces to start my collection if it wasn't for the fact that most of my current inventory was unavailable for trade due to prior commitments. But, as I create more work over the coming months, I'll be keeping their offers firmly in mind.

Trade, as incredible as it sounds, is a BIG responsibility. I want to make sure I not only select art that I connect with emotionally, but I also want to be sure I get work that best reflects the artist's style and skill.  Now I know how serious collectors feel.

Thanks to those artists who enjoy my work enough that they're interested in trading for it — it’s tremendously flattering. I'm really looking forward to starting my collection.

It's About The Journey

An artist friend of mine (with whom I was traveling) mentioned over dinner that when she was in college, she spent countless hours working to be a better artist. One day, an art instructor pulled her aside and said to her that she should slow down and enjoy her time in school, because to become a great artist, one must get some life-experience behind them. He told her that she probably wouldn't be saying anything too important with her work until she hit 40ish.

My artist friend took this to heart and did relax a bit, but in the back of her mind, her instructor had seeded a somewhat arbitrary goal — that she should be successful as an artist (whatever that means to her) by the time she reached 40. And now that she's approaching that age, she feels a sense of urgency in "making it" as an artist.

On the one hand, what her instructor said is true — most artists don't hit their stride until they've got some life-experience behind them. However, I can name a number of artists that were doing profound work in their 20s, so take such assertions with a grain of salt. On the other hand, and more importantly, I feel her instructor missed an opportunity to let her know that while goals are an important part of artistic growth, we often put too much emphasis on them and not enough on the real joy of being an artist; the journey to reaching our goals.

The journey of an artist is a life-long one. It should never end as long as one continues to pursue growth in their work. Goals are simply destinations on our journey and should not be viewed as the defining achievements that make us who we are as artists. It's the journey that defines us. As long as we continue to enjoy the process of being an artist, and dedicate ourselves to moving forward, we will reach our goals. And more importantly, we will have done so without being smothered under the self-imposed burden of attaining them.

Enjoy your journey. Lose yourself in the process and don't let your sense of urgency in reaching your goals lessen the fun of realizing them.

Time For Some Thank Yous...And A Little Boasting

I had another great show this year at the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston, SC — tons of fun, friends, food and art (maybe not in that particular order). I wanted to thank all of the wonderful art lovers who purchased my work this year. I can't tell you how flattering it is when you enjoy my work enough to make it a part of your collection.

I'd also like to thank all the folks at SEWE for putting on such a great event. You guys always make my time at SEWE so enjoyable and your hard work really shined this year. Thanks so much for inviting me to participate.

Thanks to my artist housemates for the laughs and the company. You know who you are, and if you don't, well then you probably drank too much over the weekend.

And finally, thanks to the judges for awarding me the 'Best In Show' award. It's a true honor to have my painting Watchtower selected from such an incredible collection of work at this year's show. (There, that's enough boasting... I think)

Gearing Up For SEWE

In just about a week and a half I'll be flying out to Charleston, SC to attend the Southeastern Wildlife Expo. It's a large, group wildlife art show and is one of my favorites. The city of Charleston is exquisite, the people are charming and the show itself is a blast.

In my 7 years (has it been that long?) of exhibiting in the show, I've made many friends — collectors, art lovers and other artists — who I very much look forward to seeing. And that's the strange part, at least in a way. I'm much more excited about seeing all of my friends than I am the prospect of selling artwork. It's sort of counter productive considering I make my living by selling my work. One would think my first priority would be to focus on getting my paintings sold, but that's not so in the case of SEWE. I just love being there and my first priority is to enjoy my friends and the town I've grown so fond of.

If you're in the area, be sure and stop by!