". . . a brush with nature"

Do you work best when surrounded by chaos or calm?

For me the optimum goal is CALM (in capital letters)! I absolutely need an organized studio space where everything is in its proper place and I know where to find it quickly and easily. The key words here are “quickly and easily.” My “creative flow”, as well as my positive peace of mind, can be severely impacted if I have to stop what I am working on to search for a needed tool or material to be used in the creation of whatever piece I am currently working on. Not only does searching for some particular item frustrate me, it disrupts my rhythm. It disrupts my thought process. It disrupts my artistic process.

What about you? Chaos or calm?

As an artist I want my work to become part of “a great collection.” Now, please don’t be fooled or put off by that statement. I am not saying that my goal for my work is to have a painting of mine purchased by a prestigious art museum for their permanent collection. Although that would be a tremendous honor and one no artist (including myself) would turn down, it happens rarely and to only a select few. Still, I do want my art to be in a great collection . . . maybe even many of them.

Michael Findlay said, "(...) a great collection does not contain all the right names, but one in which each work has meaning to its owners and provides constant satisfaction and joy."

That is my definition of a great collection, too. That is exactly the kind of collection I want my art to be part of. I want my paintings to mean something to someone. I want my paintings to “speak to” someone . . . to move someone . . . to touch emotions and, perhaps even bring back memories. I want people to feel something very personal when viewing my art. And if the connection and emotion felt is strong enough for that person to add the piece to their own collection, I want them to have a sense of satisfaction every time they see it there. That is my goal as an artist. Who could really ask for more?

As an artist, do you ever get discouraged. . . ever feel like you are not accomplishing enough. . . not experiencing the growth you want, or expect to see in your work? 

Then please consider this quote from “The Secret Life of Sunflowers” by Marta Molnar. “You succeed by not failing.”

Let’s think about that again. 

You ARE succeeding when you do not fail to try. You ARE succeeding when you put in the time and effort to practice your craft and work towards whatever goal you have set for yourself. You ARE, in fact, accomplishing a level of success simply by setting those goals and striving to achieve them. Each time you take one more step forward (no matter how small) that IS a step forward and therefore is, in fact, success not failure. Failure only comes when you are no longer trying. 

You ARE succeeding when you do not fail to try.

Think about it. It’s really pretty simple, right?

“There are nights where the wolves are silent and only the moon howls". - George Carlin

I created the heart pictured here as part of a fundraising event many years ago for Ronald McDonald House Charities. That was long before I ever heard this quote by George Carlin, but now I think of them almost synonymously.

I love wolves and I love painting them. Most of the paintings I have done of wolves have found new homes through the years (including this fundraising piece) and that, of course, makes me extremely happy. 

But for now, I know I will continue to paint the wolves of the wild and moons that howl.