Dear Subscribers, Greetings. |
It was a great experience. It was nice to see four large works hung side by side, representing a culmination of my creative development and growth over the past 2 years and my painting efforts from a period of 8 months. It's hard for me to see my work clearly, but I know these paintings are different from my past works. I'm always chasing what I like to see and what I like to paint, and I'm getting a little bit closer. Never to arrive completely, I think, but a little bit closer is what I can do. Each next painting must be painted--I just follow the Muse (even when I'm lost in the fog, stumbling over rocks, and can barely see her distant outline). Sometimes the Muse drags me through prickly blackberry bushes, but every now and then I get a perfectly ripe berry for my dedication. I'm not sure if that analogy works, but there you have it.
I was lucky to be able to share opening night with a different sort of muse: my exquisitely beautiful wife. I know it can be difficult to live with an artist (this artist) but her patience and grace over the years cannot be equaled. So to be there with her was very meaningful to me. |
There was a lot to see at the LA Art Show. As a viewer, my favorite booths (surprise) were Gallery 1261, Abend Gallery, and Arcadia Contemporary. My favorite single work of art was a painting of a Pegasus by Julio Reyes. An absolute masterpiece. My snapshots don't do it justice, of course, but I wanted to show you. Look at the effect achieved by the translucency of his egg tempera brushstrokes. |
Walking through a fun installation: |
While none of my four paintings sold (yet), that’s how it goes sometimes. I’ve learned over the years as an artist that sales are utterly unpredictable, and yet, as long as I’ve left every ounce of my creative blood and sweat on the studio floor and remained true, it’s just a matter of time before a painting speaks to the person it was meant for. It might take 1 year or it might take 6 years, but it usually happens, and the only thing to do is continue making the best artwork I can make. Since beginning my art career I’ve always had the feeling of being a larva, like I’m in the midst of some huge creative transformation, and that I will blossom and transcend my current form at any moment. I’m starting to realize that this feeling will never end in my lifetime--after all, artistic growth is a continuum, not an endpoint. If there’s one thing I’ve managed to avoid thus far, it’s creative stagnation, my temperament won’t allow it, and for that I’m grateful. Larva forever :)! What I’m also grateful for is you subscribers, many of whom have stayed here through the recent years of lean/sporadic newsletters, which I think have gotten more and more impersonal, businesslike, and less process-oriented due to the time limitations of parenthood (I know many of you understand) and painting. So thank you for STILL reading, truly.
The next newsletter will be about the process on a new 30x36in painting for an upcoming group show at Robert Lange Studios. I just took it off the easel last night! Paintings from the Art Show can be purchased directly from Gallery 1261 here: |
TOWNSEND ATELIER Chattanooga, Tennessee
STILL LIFE COMPOSITION AND PAINTING November 3-5 (3 days) $535 |
Thank you for reading. Until next time, best wishes to you -David |
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