Afternoon Musings with my Friends at the Open Studio Class

Yesterday was my Monthly Open Studio Class. I swear I don't know what I would do without them. They are a breath of fresh air and so much fun.We are definitely a tribe. (Thanks Seth Godin) We talk about everything under the sun. Naturally, I forgot to take pictures this month and I had a new friend come. I wish they would remind me to do the photos. Half the time I forget. Diane is an oil painter, Janet and Sarah are doing gouache these days. Mary was tied up in Jacksonville with family obligations and didn't make it. She was greatly missed as was Kim.

We had two topics worth mention here. One was the subject of artists and people in general who tend to be poisonous to others. Their attitudes are so negative or egotistical that they bring others to a bad place emotionally. Really, the world is all about them. I recently had a friend write to me about a situation with another artist who blew up over a small error, making a mountain out of a mole hill. This artist has an elevated, overdeveloped sense of self worth (or is it low self esteem being glossed over?. He imagines himself to be Internationally important and cannot allow any mistakes to happen that might effect his persona in any small obscure way. In reality, no one would give a hoot one way or another. I frequently run into these artists at various events. I know an artist who was not willing to have his work hung anywhere but in the sweet spot of a huge exhibition with over 50 artists. He raised a stink to the point that the curator had to say "take it or leave it". I can give you endless examples of this kind of behavior, but I wont bore you with them.

I think this is a "whistling in the dark" problem. Many of these people are scared to death that they are in fact, not the greatest or most important artist around but must pretend to be, to look like the biggest fish in their little pond. It's a funny thing. When you grow up finally, you come to understand that you don't have to be an ass to get attention. You just have to work hard at your craft and produce good work. The right kind of people, who will admire and respect you will find you in the crowd. The harder you try to look important, the sillier and more pathetic people find you to be behind your back.

I have always had a theory about why so many artists are Divas, both men and women. We are at the bottom of the food chain. Most of us are fairly well educated and from middle class families, so we know what it is like to live well, but we don't. Many of our friends and acquaintances are well off or have disposable income, because they are the people who buy our work. We live vicariously through them in a way, attending their parties, visiting their homes, and yet we barely get by, especially if we are the sole breadwinner. Artists are not highly respected as a profession,though our work is enjoyed and loved, compared to Dr's, scientists, engineers and so forth. We are a bit odd in the minds of most in society. I think being the kid looking into the candy store window makes some of us territorial,jealous and a bit paranoid. Fighting over the scraps if you will.

At one time I was that way myself. I was pretty full of myself, making the mistake of thinking I was important and feeling like the world owed me the same lifestyle And recognition that my friends and clients had. It is very easy to fall into that mindset, believe me, especially when you have nothing but a pot to piss in. By God's grace, I finally woke up one day and figured it all out. We are owed nothing just because we are an artist. No special treatment at shows,no butting in line to check in our work,no elite status over our peers. We need to just get over it! The best thing we can do is to reach out a hand to the artists coming up behind us and hope they will do the same for those behind them. If we are at the bottom of the food chain, let's work together to improve our situation, rather than fighting amongst ourselves.


The other quite interesting topic was about how color effects mood. I had mentioned that the more intense colors in the "Color Fields" series are the most popular and sell the fastest. Someone said they thought it was because the country is in a dark sort of mood and they need something to cheer them up and make them feel happy. It's a pretty good theory I guess, as good as any.

We really laughed at ourselves and enjoyed the day together.

I have been playing around with the weird little palette I told you about, tweaking it and modifying the yellows. There is no way I can make the original palette work for Florida without a second yellow, so I have tried both ochre and Cad yellow light so far. This is the painting I did yesterday at the group session.



Color Fields #12
5x7 inches
acrylic on panel

This one was done with Cad yellow light. I really think the Ochre is going to work better with this palette. I need to chart both of them to take a look at the big picture. More tomorrow about the paintings I'm fixing up from the paint out. My good friend and fabulous painter Sarah Carey was kind enough to bring them home from Crescent Beach for me. What would I do without her?

Today's Recipe

Dressed Up Macaroni and Cheese

2 boxes Kraft Mac and Cheese
1 # mild sausage
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach( Squeezed and drained until absolutely dry)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
dash of dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
dash of dried rosemary chopped
3 T butter
salt/pepper

Make mac and cheese. Saute sausage with spinach and herbs in butter. Drain thoroughly. Mix it all up and put in greased casserole dish. Bake 30 minutes at 350. You can sprinkle a bit of cheese on top during the last five minutes of baking. Yummy and easy.