What Will Art Be Like In 100 Years?

Red Rock Beauty  18 x 18 Wrapped Canvas Available

Slow Down for Wildlife!

Everything slows down in the summer.  As uncomfortable and even dangerous as the heat may be, the cycle of slowing down is one I’ve always thought we should obey. 

One of the joys I have is associating art with walks and rejuvenating vacations. I recently saw the sign, “Slow Down for Wildlife” in a county park.  I know they meant it as a safety warning, but it’s good advice for painters. When we were walking the desert paths in Arizona, we might have missed the beautiful blooming cactus tucked in the hillside if we’d hurried by.  I’m glad we slowed down to find this cactus I painted and named Red Rock Beauty

Slow Down to Paint!

It seems lately every art-related email I receive is about “speeding up”.  “Quick draw” competitions and “paint-outs” are very much promoted during this time of year.  These events require artists to paint outdoors for controlled time periods. The emphasis on painting quickly seems to be gaining momentum as a standard for painting, emphasizing that capturing a “singular moment in time” is superior to studio painting.—or superior to that of developing a painting outdoors over several days.  These events have many positive aspects, but I consciously work to overcome the frenzy I feel and strive to restore the meditative quality that is so special about developing a painting.  Do I really want to paint fast?  I keep reminding myself: a deliberate, thought out stroke is preferable to three impulsive ones.  

Industry Is Primary 8 x 8 Oil on Panel Available

Slow Down to Experiment!

Another joy I have in painting is the freedom to experiment.  When I try something new, I learn things about myself. I develop a language for expressing my experiences. After many miles of painting, my experiences are leading me to focus and simplify, as you can see in this latest painting Industry Is Primary.  I am increasingly moving toward a strong abstract quality in my representational work.

Experimentation demands breadth and scope.  Frequently marketers and art consultants tell artists to limit and narrow their work to a singular medium, singular subject, singular audience, etc.   If the limitation is done too soon, it prevents an artist from developing an authentic and personal style. In the course of investigating here and there, an artist may, indeed, eventually come to concentrate on a single subject or medium, but it will be “natural” (based on discovery), not engineered.

Lately I’ve been fortunate to view the works of Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and our native North Carolinian Claude Howell. They all investigated different art materials and painted varied subjects; they painted both in the studio and outdoors. They traveled and studied.  I believe this is still a model for the future.

So, what will art look like in 100 years?

Technology will undoubtedly speed up reproduction, distribution and access.  I hope there will be more profound discoveries in chemistry and in light and color which may lead to new pigments and materials; maybe there will be art that extends our physical and sensory knowledge; maybe there will be more interactive art.  I believe, regardless, that it will be achieved through the old model by artists who have a need to slow down and take a diverse and creative path.

What do you think?

A portion of my sales go to support bee/pollinator conservation.  Why?  Because I add beeswax to my oil paints, paint and consume the beautiful flowers, fruits and vegetables that bees and other pollinators provide.

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My paintings are available at my studio in Cary, NC, online at Sheffield Art Studio and at my Daily PaintworksGallery (see also clickable link above right) 

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Out of the Comfort Zone

"Morning with a Treasured Tree" oil 12 x 12 Available at Cary Gallery of Artists through Oct 22

What is my comfort zone?  The studio−everything I need, quiet, being undisturbed to plan and organize, time to complete a painting on my schedule.

So when I was given the opportunity to participate in Historic Southport’s Plein Air Paint Out and Wet Paint Sale, my reaction was:  Ugh, Paint Outs!  I’ve avoided them like the plague.  Pressure.  Jockey for position at the most interesting sites.  Quick decisions. Compose-Paint-Frame! Not the meditative and “sinking into the place” experience that is so enjoyable about painting outdoors.  And during the start of hurricane season, I thought.  Oh, yea.  And scheduled right before I’m preparing for three exhibits.  The date, September 14, was picked to coordinate with the International Plein Air Painters Organization Worldwide Paint Out.  Who knew there was an International WORLD WIDE paint out? 

In my mind there were plenty of reasons not to participate.  But I overcame all the internal nay-saying because one of the organizers was Jim McIntosh.  We wanted to see him again and the ever-so-lovely coastal town of Southport, NC.  We had visited Southport the year before and stayed in the heart of the downtown at the Southport Inn B and B. Southport has been the location to many movies for its historic buildings, small parks, walkable waterfronts, docked boats and yachts, and charming merchant and tree-lined residential streets.  For these same reasons, it’s a delightful location for outdoor painting. If there was ever going to be a fun paint out, Jim, a lively and easy-going watercolorist, would make it so.

The problem is—I’m not easy-going!  So, being a former arts administrator, I went into planning mode.  I spent weeks agonizing over gathering an assortment of frames and painting panels so Walt and I would have a variety of size and orientation choices –6 x 8, 5 x 7, 8 x 10, 9 x 12 (horizontal and vertical) for all the subjects we’d want to paint.  In the final week, I came to my senses and realized neither of us would paint more than two paintings in the morning hours before we’d want lunch and need to pack up for the viewing area.  We ended up packing only a few prepared 12 x 12 frames --one nice square orientation!—prewired with backer boards and identified with business cards.  That decision done! 

Next—map out our desired locations. I’ve been doing a series of trees, so I was particularly interested in painting the estimated 800 year old Indian Trail tree, also known as Treasure Tree.  So that was to be our first stop, followed by either the old yacht basin or a residential scene or downtown business.  We would let our energy and interest of the day guide us.  The evening before we took a leisurely stroll around the town to consider distances (for hauling equipment between sites) and to estimate the sun’s location in the morning—here Walt is of incalculable help as I’ve never figured out the seasonal movement of the planets! Where the heck is that sun going to be?!  Is there an app for this? (Turns out there is, Sun Seeker, but Walt’s a better companion.)

"Bunting and 'Brella" oil 12x12. Available. At Cary Cafe through Oct 27

In the middle of the afternoon, all the participating artists congregated at the Fort Johnson-Southport Museum & Visitors Center lawn.  The assortment of styles and quality was top quality.  This event will surely grow.  We ended the day with a seafood dinner with good friends Paulette and Hank Wright.  Paulette, a photographer and painter, participated with her acrylic work.  

Walt’s paintings have already migrated to his office at Armor Investment Advisors, but I can tell you his acrylic work was very popular. The tree pictured above was the first painting we each worked on in Kezia Park.  Next I chose to paint a portion of the Christmas Shop and, the next day, a boat in the Old Yacht Basin. 
 

"Calm in the Basin" oil 12x12 Available. At Cary Gallery of Artists through Oct 22

How do I feel about the experience?  Ebullient!  By leaving my comfort zone I learned I could make quick and good decisions, that years of workshop and daily painting training would buoy me up, and that, by being approachable, the good nature of the public and fellow artists would encourage me.  Where I had been struggling with painting in the weeks prior, the experience of going out of my comfort zone was what I needed to rejuvenate my confidence and painting. 

Challenge met!

In addition to Jim McIntosh, thanks to Cindy Brochure of Tourism and Economic Development, Film Liaison City of Southport, for organizing this event.  We’ll be b-a-a-a-ck!

In Cary, my paintings are available at Cary Gallery of Artists 200 S. Academy St. in downtown Cary Ashworth Village. 919-462-2035 Mon-Sat 11 am - 5:30 pm. 

On the coast, my works are available at Figments Gallery, 1319 Military Cutoff, Landfall Shopping Center, Wilmington, NC 28405 910-509-4289

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