Blog

I'm finishing up my two-weeks Glen Arbor Art Association residency in Sleeping Bears Dunes National Lakeshore with much satisfaction. Everyone wants to know if I had fun. I tell them No. I needed to work and I did work and I am satisfied with my efforts. To me, this is far more rewarding than "fun."

Why do people seem anxious to describe the work of an artist in terms usually reserved for recreation. After all, how many of them go off to work each day anticipating a day filled with fun? I'm sensitive to this, I suppose, because I'm beginning to allow my work to actually reflect the struggle I often feel when making art. I suppose I've had fun as a less serious painter, but now I seek something more deeply gratifying. I need to.

I've never been one to delay gratification of pressing needs -- once I realize I have them. Ever self-sufficient, however, I admit I've been slow to acknowledge that in some circumstances I actually have needs, however. But one thing this current residency has shown me is that painting is not a whim, not a passing fancy, not a hobby, not something fun I do when I can find the time, but a real need.

If I don't paint, the need goes unfulfilled in me. Until I face a blank canvas I don't know what that something is. Once I do, I discover my raison d'etre is revealed, not all at once, but in the unfoldment of the work. I'm very grateful to those organizations that offer residency programs. It's one very real way to "supprot the arts." Too much goes unnoticed in the ordinary flow of daily life. Even if it's not fun, the time out for self-discovery and development of my art is worth the time and trouble to get away.

The painting shown here was recently prized in a 6-County Multimedia Juried Competition here in Northern Michigan. I entered this piece and one other pretty much at the last minute. I didn't give much thought, one way or the other, to "winning," I simply wanted the paintings to be seen. After the fact, however, I got to thinking about what it means when a painting gains this sort of trophy recognition.

Is a successful painting just one more product to be lauded as a desirable by an audience with an appetite for a attractive picture? Or is a good painting the evidence of an artistic process that may or may not "look good" in a decorator's portfolio?If it's only a product, then success is frequently (and painfully) measured by whether or not it sells. If it's only process, success may be measured by the amount of contempt an artist holds for the viewing public.

These and related subjects have provoked long hours of discussion for artists and their critics. Those who sell their work profitably are sometimes accused of selling out. Those whose process takes their work into the realm of narcissistic incomprehensibility wonder why no one wants what they create.

My personality is way too conditioned on the side of pleasing others first so, for me, it's become important to first paint what pleases me. And what pleases me, I'm happy to say, often pleases others. I'm aware, however, that too much satisfaction with my work may inhibit it from expanding and growing in a more risky direction.

Is there a balance to be struck here? For sure! While not forcing my artistic process in an artificial way, I seek to remain open to the possibility of stretching to and beyond the edges of my comfort zone. When I'm true to this creating impulse, the resulting painting may look different than ones I've made before, yet the quality of intention continues to attract the collectors for whom they are destined.

I'm sharing these thoughts on the eve of my departure for a two-week residency granted me by the Glen Arbor Art Association. I don't yet have a clear sense of what wants to happen during this period. I imagine I'll have to confront the part of me that has painted a certain kind of successful landscape in this area -- and who knows what other "parts" will show up. I'm taking several large canvasses and a bunch of smaller ones and lots of paint. I'll let you know what ends up on them on the other side ....

Click here to learn more about "Dune Shadows."