On Exhibiting (part two)

This post is appearing in the aftermath of my first exhibition in four years. The show I managed to mount was both in scale and in scope a quantum leap above anything I had done previously. Standing in the gallery rooms before the first visitors arrived I felt a warm sense of fulfillment. The opening drew a full house of artists, models and friends. Surprisingly even a few nudes sold. By any metric I value it was a resounding success.

Portrait Study, oil pastel, 6" X 5", 2016

Exhibition Wall

In a post a month ago I said it is essential for visual artists to put their work on display. This show now stands as a vivid marker in my art career. It also provided a needed sense of finality. Now I can start on the next phase of my artistic adventure and just like when facing a blank canvas I have no idea where I'm going.

Success Ratio

The final selections have been made for my upcoming exhibition. In addition to twentyfour paintings eighteen oil pastel drawings made the cut. Working from a model two or three times a week over four years I had hundreds of drawings to choose from. What, I wondered, has been my success ratio. For each chosen drawing how many attempts found their way into the "miss" stack? I honestly have no idea.

Fermale Nude, oil pastel, 9" X 8", 2016

A baseball player that gets a hit every third at bat is as huge success. My success ratio is no where near that percentage. It is probably closer to 1 of 30 or worse. On reflection I've decided there is no reason to quantify this number. Working from life involves a random ever shifting set of variables. Sometimes the planets just line up.

Mile Posts

There are events in everyone's lives that serve as markers or mile posts. A graduation, a marriage, the birth of a child, events where you remember the specific time, place and circumstances. They can signify a beginning, end or maybe the apex of a certain life stage. Many of my paintings and drawings serve as markers in my art career and life.

Abandoned Bus, oil on canvas, 15" X 20", 2000

Often an extended period of time has to pass before a pictures "marker" role becomes apparent. For the painting above I was between studios and spent a summer working outside. Even after sixteen years this picture still transports me back to the place and time of its creation.

On Exhibiting (part one)

Four years ago I swore off exhibiting. Prior to that time I had mounted shows every two years or so. This pace became untenable as my interest in the figure grew. Attending or arranging model sessions became all consuming. Now, with an abundant body of work, I feel the time is finally right for an exhibition.

Thirty minute figure study, oil pastel, 2014

Putting ones work on display is essential for any visual artist. Garnering attention and generating sales are the most obvious reasons for exhibiting. However, the show I am compiling will consist primarily of nudes and I anticipate few if any sales. My main motivation for showing at this juncture is personal. I want to put down a marker indicating where my work stands at this particular time and place. Somehow I need this before moving on.

Oh the Romance

Perhaps it didn't start with van Gogh and the impressionists but certainly since that time the general public has had a tendency to romanticize the lives of painters. The hungry artist working in a garret studio engaged in the heroic pursuit of some idealized vision. The more suffering and torment the more romantic the endeavor.

Nude study, oil on linen, 9 1/2" X 7 1/2", 2015

All art is to some extent a product of its creators environment. Throughout the ages, except for a select few, artists must have worked under difficult conditions. But in the end paintings are fantasies. The real world circumstances behind their creation are rarely known. For some reason working under and overcoming adversity does romanticize the process and enrich ones art.

The picture above is of a room in my current studio as I first found it two years ago. This image doesn't begin to capture the worst of the problems. Who but a lowly painter could possibly see this as anything short of appalling? In spite of the condition I was immediately drawn to the place - where better to begin a romantic adventure.

Validation

Everyone wants validation that what they do matters. Artists are probably more desirous of this than most. After all art is a direct expression of self. An absence of praise or recognition can be felt as personal rejection. In our culture selling ones art is the clearest expression that it is of value. The more sales and the higher the prices the more important your art and therefore you must be.

Sleeping Model, oil on canvas, 12" X 10", 2006

I sold the above painting some years ago. Happening upon the image recently I was struck with a mild sense of regret. I would gladly return the purchase price to have the painting back. It marks a time and place that were special to me. That's all the validation I am seeking.

Staying Power

How have certain visual art forms managed to survive and even thrive in our modern era? Since the invention of the earliest photo processes painting has faced extinction. Smart phones have upped the ante with their gushing stream of digital images. Why would anyone need or even want a hand painted picture when a more accurate one can be had with the touch of a finger?

Oil sketch on canvas, 9" X 11", 2006

Painting survives, at least in part, because the medium possesses and can project a unique power. The sensations emitting form an art work can remain tactile and alive indefinitely. When I stand in front of certain art objects, even ones centuries old, I can still feel the creators energy. All that is needed to extract that energy is an open and receptive viewer.