". . . a brush with nature"

“…putting in what John Muir Laws calls our “pencil miles.”  We are practicing. And when we practice-over time, with intentional effort-we improve.”

This is from an Instagram Wild Wonder Foundation post.

Well, I do put in quite a lot of “pencil miles” myself. Although those pencil miles may more correctly be called pastel miles or paint miles, they still amount to many, many hours of practice time. And practicing art, as with anything else, will eventually lead you to improvement.

I try to “practice” my art, in one form or another, each and every day. Sometimes my time spent in my studio is short due to other commitments and sometimes I have the opportunity to work for hours. Whatever the case may be, it is still a chance to challenge myself to explore a new idea, a new medium or even a new technique or method using something I am already familiar with. Whatever I am doing, and no matter for how long, it is still a chance to put in some more miles and see some improvement in my work. Sometimes personal growth comes at what seems like a snail’s pace. At other times the change is swift. It’s like everything suddenly clicks and falls into place.

I don’t believe in the case of my own art that practice ever makes perfect . . . and that’s a good thing. If I ever thought my artwork was perfect, I am afraid I would stop trying to improve. I might stop practicing to get better. And really, putting in all that practice, all those “pencil miles”, . . . well, therein lies the fun part!

I always feel so honored to be asked to paint a portrait for someone, to be entrusted to create a keepsake for that person that, hopefully, will be treasured by them and/or their family for years to come. I always try to do my very best to capture not only a likeness of the subject, but also the essence of what makes (or made) that individual unique . . . what makes them special . . . what makes them “who they are.” I want to get to “know” the person I am going to be painting. 

Most often I gather this information by hearing reminiscences about my subject from the person commissioning the painting. Occasionally, I already know my subject or will have the opportunity to meet and talk with them, but often the portrait is being painted because the much-loved person has already passed away. The memories shared with me are always rich with emotion.

In addition to all of that knowledge, a great reference photo(s) to work from is of upmost importance. Details are important. The photos I work from must be clear enough and large enough to accurately provide me with all the information I need. These details are often fleshed out with questions asked and answered between myself and my client to confirm additional information such as more precise eye color, etc.

In this blog I would like to have you join me on the progression of a particular portrait commission I had the great honor to paint. My client had recently lost her husband. She wanted to have this painting done in celebration of the love of her life and the life they had shared together. I was happy to “get to know” this man as she knew him. In the end she was very happy with the painting and later commissioned another painting of herself to go along with it. 

My heart is happy.

The following are both excerpts from an article in the August/September issue of Cowboys & Indians Magazine titled “Artist Once Known” by Dana Joseph.

I thought the entire one-page piece (Editor’s Note) was extremely interesting and very insightful, but I found the following two quotes to be especially important. 

'It is essential to remember that every "Unknown" artist was "Once Known."

“On some level, we are all artists who were once known — if only to ourselves — before life, age, schooling, careers, obligations, and literal-minded mothers might have convinced us otherwise. May you be reminded of the artist you once were. May you rediscover the desire to create. And may you encourage and appreciate those who brave it all to remain artists— to express themselves, create beauty, capture the human condition, and put something out into the future world that will indicate they were once known.”

The gist of the article is that every child starts out as an artist, but the problem is how to remain an artist once we move towards adulthood. As, you might gather from the paragraph above, a callous remark from the author’s own mother is what squelched her own dreams of being an artist, but there are so many other ways that can also snuff out that creative spark. Some of these ways are unintentional and some and not. 

It is important that we each try to retain our own creativity and at the same time attempt to encourage the creativity of others around us.

And then there is this fact to consider. As time passes, the names of many of those who actually did create that which we now celebrate as art, have been forgotten or were never recorded in the first place. We now recognize that art can take many shapes and forms, from ornamental to utilitarian. Many of these works of art, produced lovingly by human hands, remain unsigned, but were still created by an artist nonetheless. 

Please remember that every "Unknown" artist was "Once Known."