Sunday, June 1, 2008

I've been thinking as I lay awake at 3 or 4 a.m. when Cooper jumps on me to tell me to get up and play. I don't get up, but I think. And a subject that has been on my mind alot lately is the relevance of my work to what is really concerning me. I look at a lot of artists' blogs and see lots of art, and most of it is just meaningless. I mean, how many ways can you paint an apple and what does that mean anyway? I at least want my viewer to think as my work is scrutinized. So from now on my work will have some relevance to my life, and hopefully it will strike a chord in the viewer's mind, also.

3 comments:

Teresa Mallen said...

Hi Deborah,

After reading your lovely comments on my blog, I had to pop on over for a visit.

I have had an enjoyable time reading your posts. It strikes me that you manage to churn out a lot of finished work. I can tell that you spend a lot of time in the studio!

I like your work in acrylic. You might want to check out this website: www.omma.cn. The website features the work of talented Ottawa area mixed media artists. I enjoy visiting the galleries and the websites of the artists.

I too often feel a pull in the direction of paint. You are way ahead of me with regards to playing with all the gels and mediums. I must confess though that I soon get bored with paint and I quickly go back to the challenges of my realistic work in pencil.

So you are pondering the relevance of your art...very interesting. Perhaps it comes down to making a connection - if my own art resonates with me then that is enough. It can be an interesting thing, what makes a connection with a viewer. I find it can be everything from the subject matter, the composition, the colours used, the medium, techniques/style or a combination of all these elements.

I have enjoyed visiting your blog and I shall be returning often. I'm glad to have met you Deborah and I look forward to seeing what comes out of your studio next!

Bella Sinclair said...

Thank you for visiting my blog, because now I have discovered you! I feel a connection to you, because I only took one art class in college, too. But the professor was too discouraging, or more likely, I was too sensitive. In any case, I put away the pencils and didn't draw again for almost 20 years. I'm trying to get into the swing of it again and expand my style, but as you can see, I live in the safety of my pencil. So kudos to you for trying new mediums! I think that's brave and wonderful!

You have a very interesting blog, and I love seeing the progression of your pieces. They really are lovely, especially your portraits. You worry about not having a connection to your art? Well, I see a lot of connection to you in your moving portraits.

I will be back to see more!

visioneerwindows said...

trying for relevance in your work means thinking in terms of themes, then visualizing those themes... just as titles, properly, in fiction play an important part in the work, as they crystalize the theming, so too ought the theme/titles in a rendering, not just be a tagged on aftherthinking which [hopefully to most] displays something of what was striven for... and there is a feedback to this, as once the mind engages in this manner, what you see will impart a theming/titling to mind [and not just theming but themingS, sometimes almost overwhelmingly so, to me anyway]... and thus comes all sense of your relevancy in your work, elevating them to greater enjoyment in their creating.