Symbols, Signatures, and Signs

An artist signing his painting.

Advertisers use symbolism to encourage viewers to relate to their products and help them remember. The purpose of these symbols is to “endear” the item or store to potential buyers. It seems to be working.

Who can forget Apple’s logo: the apple with the bite taken out of it, or Target’s red bull's eye, or McDonald’s golden arches. We look for these symbols on the highway when we want something to eat. We file these symbols away in our minds and think of them when it’s time to shop or to make a purchase.

        

On my morning walk, I saw a parked car with a small chrome fish on the trunk. Immediately, I recognized the owners as Christian, at least in name and desire to share their beliefs with others.

According to tradition, ancient Christians, during their persecution by the Roman Empire in the first few centuries after Christ, used the fish symbol to mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes. The fish was formed from the Greek word: Ichthys. The lines for the word formed an actual fish.

According to one ancient story, when a Christian met a stranger on the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company. Current bumper-stickers and business-cards use of the fish hearkens back to this practice.

According to the Huffington Post, Religious symbols are a way to unite members of a common faith tradition, and to indicate to others the religious tradition they represent. Take their quiz and see how many symbols you can identify by clicking on the links above and below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/20/religious-symbols-signficance_n_3964458.html

Artists place their signature on every painting. Some of them are unique and unlike any other. Sometimes a symbol is created that becomes that artist’s trademark; remembered and identified. Here are a few famous artists’ signatures that have become classics.

 

And who can forget the signs of the Zodiac. Even though many frown on the practice of using horoscopes or signs to predict life events, they are all around us and difficult to avoid. The use of these signs is condemned in the Bible, yet I’ve known many Christians who playfully peak at their daily predictions as they would read the funny papers and then quickly forget them.

Many famous people, even Presidents and their wives have been known to rely on their horoscope predictions for determining a good date or time for decision making. Personality traits are identified for each sign and almost anyone can see themselves in their birth month as we all share many human traits in common.

I am a Leo; my sign is the Lion

As a marketing ploy, having an identifiable logo or sign can promote your business. A trademark that people recognize or a name that evokes feelings of satisfaction is a real plus!

Innovate or Placate? Experiment or Languish? How’s your Painting Libido?

Some artist’s are making a big splash. They are non-conformists doing things their way. Not afraid of criticism or worried about “staying in line,” they follow their gut instincts; and in the process, they’re making money. Wish that were you?

Self taught artists probably have more daring. What have they got to lose? But there are artists who get bored by the tried and true methods of the past and just want to make waves. They want their art to sizzle and sing. They manage to push the envelope to the outer limits.

Don’t get me wrong. These artists have already proven themselves in traditional ways. They are color and value experts who wave the brush expertly and intelligently. They also follow trends. They understand that what’s popular today may not be hot tomorrow. They have found a way to capitalize on the here and now in hopes of making some money and it seems to be working.

I watched a street artist use nothing but spray paint and window scrapers as a brush. The work was not as crude as I’d expected. He layered colors from light to dark, and while still wet, expertly scraped off top layers to expose the light. Shapes formed. Buildings appeared. Different sized palette knives and scrapers exposed a cityscape and a sunset. The end result was breathtaking.

His “street art” was produced quickly and expertly. The wrapped canvas paintings sold like hotcakes! People were intrigued. They were in awe as landscapes and city streets appeared in living color. The canvases were affordable and inspiring. This artist had found a way to tap into the pulse of the buyers who lived and worked in the city.

Chloe Morris Sketchbook

Who is your audience? Does your work appeal to the culture and clime of potential buyers or are you focused on your own drumbeat drowning out the sounds of the marketplace? Do you live in a seaside community or a rural farm area? Do your buyers hail from suburbia or Harlem? Who do you want to reach? How do you want to touch them or influence them? Does your work have universal appeal or is it specific?

These are questions every artist needs to ask before proceeding with a work. If you paint only to please yourself, you may have only an audience of one.

Learning is a Never-Ending Journey

You will never “arrive.” Get that thought out of your head. If you’re not learning, if you’re not growing and adding to your knowledge, you are backsliding.

Sure experience, and technique once mastered, gives you an edge. But if you don’t stay on top of current trends and a changing audience, you become stagnant.

Just ask an artist in their seventies or eighties. You can quickly become irrelevant if you fail to adapt to the changing world around you. Businesses rise and fall when a company fails to keep abreast of current trends and customer demographics. Skills weaken and change if they’re not being used. If you allow yourself to get rusty and out of shape, no amount of salesmanship can pull you from a neglectful slump.

Consider your vocation, your avocation or career as a lifetime endeavor. You never arrive because you’re always striving to become better. Your competition is not with other artists, but with yourself.

This dynamic creates enthusiasm, joy, and satisfaction. Nothing can compare with the feeling of mastering something new. Life is never dull because there’s always the next hurdle to overcome, the next goal to reach, and the excitement of reaching a new level of skill.

Achievers never quit. Their journey is a process not a destination. Discovering new layers of themselves brings them success automatically. Their goal is not fame, but self mastery. When all the elements of success are in place, recognition comes automatically.

Timing is another key. When opportunity strikes, the achiever will reach out and grab it. This is not the time for procrastination or self doubt. The golden ring doesn’t come around often. Be alert to opportunity when it comes. Don’t let fear keep you from reaching out. If you do, there may be no second chances.

The photos in this blog were taken in parts of Snellville and Hiawasee, Georgia.

Hail to the Art Council of Southwest Florida

(A folk scene with a vintage frame)

 For fifty years, the Art Council has been “the voice of Southwest Florida’s non-profit visual arts community, providing opportunities for education, exhibitions, demonstrations, and most recently an interactive website to all affiliated organizations’ artists.”

The Art Council is a Cooperative venture encompassing 18 affiliated organizations comprised of members from Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades Counties with a combined membership of over 6,750 artists of which I am one.

Yesterday was my day for working at the gallery, located at Coconut Point in Estero, between Panera Bread and The World Market. Each displaying artist volunteers at least one day every other month to support the gallery in customer relations and retail sales.

When I walked into the gallery after having been away for several weeks, I was blown away. “What a classy looking gallery,” I said to myself. With over 125 artists represented, the wide variety of items, styles and types of art creates an amazingly eclectic and sophisticated display.

(bird made entirely of glazed ceramic)

The remarkable leadership is supported by board members from the various leagues represented, including qualified judges who jury in each new piece of artwork. The gallery represents top-notch artists and a magnificent array of choices for the buyer.

One couple who visited the gallery yesterday remarked: “Oh, how we wish we’d found you before we decorated our house.” Enthused and excited about what the gallery had to offer, they assured us they would be back!

One young woman, pulling a piece of luggage on wheels, was flying back to Canada in a few short hours. She rushed in to buy a polka-dotted fish made from a palm frond that she'd seen before and couldn’t get out of her mind. We helped her bubble-wrap the fish which she intended to take on the plane as “carry-on.”

Many gallery artists bring their following of clients with them which boosts sales and attendance. New artists are continually being discovered, and an awareness of art is reverberating through the surrounding communities.

If you haven’t visited the gallery, you should. If you winter in Florida or vacation here, make Coconut Point Southwest Florida Art gallery a “must see” on your agenda.

See additional paintings below. Here are links for questions or information:
www.acswf.org or / info@acswf.org

(A beautiful scene by Carol McCardle) Too high for a straight on photo.

Connecting the Dots – Making Your Art Relevant

"Beach Buddies" mixed media on 16x20 canvas

I’ve talked about the importance of networking as you make your way in your career, and the importance of getting your artwork seen and your name recognized. But there’s another side of the networking coin that’s even more important. It’s called connecting.

What’s the difference you might ask? The focus of “connecting” is your audience. Who are you painting for? Do you paint only for yourself or do you have something to say? Who do you want to say it to? It’s all about finding your voice as an artist and connecting with your audience.

This takes networking, a critical step in marketing, to a whole new level. It means connecting with people in a new way, not just visually, but emotionally and intellectually. It’s about making your artwork memorable, recognizable, and desirable. It means connecting to your buyer.

"With These Hands -- Love" 18x24 oil on canvas; framed

This last step may take years for an artist to develop. What is it about you and your perceptions and attitudes about life that make you unique and different? How can you incorporate this originality into your voice so that you may connect with people? Do you want to make a statement or do you just want to paint pretty pictures?

I’ve asked myself that question many times. I watch what sells, and I know that a big part of it is painting pretty scenes with dynamic colors that catch a person’s eye, whimsy, or the décor of their living room. Sadly, this may make a sale, but unless there is something else to grab the mind and heart of the viewer, it is quickly forgotten in the stream of other things in life and other competitive art that grabs for attention.

"An Open Book" 16x20 mixed media on canvas

If we want to make our mark, our voice has to speak volumes about us as individual artists. Depth of soul, depth of character, and a unique perspective say as much about us on canvas as does the skill we use in applying paint, composition, and structure. Success and recognition come when we finally make that connection!

Featured Artist
Magal Nagar was born in New York, and at age 9 her family relocated to Israel. At the age of 18, Magal fulfilled her two-year Israeli military obligation, assisting with the operations of a kibbutz (communal settlement). It was during this period, inspired by nature in the rural mountain setting of Southern Israel, that Nagar found her gift and passion for painting. Indeed, through exploration with color, she had achieved her own intuitive, unique form of self expression and inner peace.  http://www.magalnagarart.com/categories.php

Art is the Priceless Expression of the Soul

Work in Progress -- acrylic drawing 18x24 canvas

What is the fine line that separates art from pornography? Can you feel it? Sense it? What is vulgar to one person may be beautiful to another. I was surprised and excited when I took my first drawing class with a live model. I blossomed! My linear ink/brush drawing won first prize in an art show.

I took my sketches and drawings; my prized paintings, to a family reunion and shared them with relatives. My excitement waned as shocked and appalled faces looked back at me. They were not only “not impressed,” they were disgusted.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Obviously, my relatives had never had much exposure to art. What they saw and felt was shame for the exposure of the human form. I was crestfallen. Every emotion and skill I had discovered in myself was frowned on by those who knew me. My best was not good enough. I was viewed with disdain.

Did that deter me? Yes, for awhile until I rediscovered myself and the beauty of all God’s creations, including the human body.

Work in Progress -- "Fish Market--You Buy?"

During the transformation of the German people under the leadership of Hitler, Heinrich Heine made this observation: “Where books or art is burned, they will in the end, burn people.”

We must protect our freedom of expression. In China they cannot use the Internet freely or speak freely. Sometimes in government’s efforts to control and protect, they end up extinguishing freedom. Just like blowing on a lighted candle, they diminish the light of truth and the power of the individual to choose.

Work in Progress, 18x24 canvas, Fishmarket

Here are some of my favorite quotes by famous artists: Enjoy!

"When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college- that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?"	Howard Ikemoto
The more horrifying this world becomes, the more art becomes abstract.	Paul Klee
"Good art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us."	Roy Adzak
"A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places."	Paul Gardner
"A line is a dot that went for a walk."	Paul Klee
It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.	Pablo Picasso
Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.	Pablo Picasso
It takes a very long time to become young.	Pablo Picasso
There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, thanks to their art and intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.	Pablo Picasso
If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all.	Michelangelo Buonarroti
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."	Maya Angelou
An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision."	James McNeill Whistler
"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."	Henry Ward Beecher
It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.	Henri Matisse
I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me.	Henri Matisse
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way-things I had no words for.	Georgia O'Keeffe
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.	Georgia O'Keeffe
"The source of genius is imagination alone, the refinement of the senses that sees what others do not see, or sees them differently."	Eugene Delacroix
"I am an artist… I am here to live out loud."	Emile Zola
"Painting is easy for those that do not know how, but very difficult for those that do!"	Edgar Degas
"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."	Edgar Degas
"No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination."       Edward Hopper "Hey, Coconut Mon" (part of my African series)

”What’s Love got ta’ do, got ta’ do with it?”

Photo from contact in Uganda

 The words in the title are from Tina Turner’s greatest hit. “What’s love got to do with it?” Why, everything, Tina!

No matter what we give our heart or our time to, if we have the passion and the love, we’re bound to be successful. Why? Because what we love we give our devotion to; we give it our all.

Bert Sugar, prolific author and promoter of life and boxing, loved what he did. But that wasn’t always the case. Sugar started out as an attorney and then worked in various professions before he started doing what he loved: boxing. When he started writing about what he loved, and engaging in the technical aspects of the sport, his success soared. He died a few days ago doing what he loved.

Work in Progress -- Fish Market -- "You Buy?"

Successful artists or professionals have one thing in common: passion. Their love of what they do drives them to produce more and more of what they love. It skyrockets them to success, but not over night. The path to success requires blood, sweat and tears and the willingness to accept criticism, anger, and hatred; especially if your work has a political intent. One artist comes to mind: a Utah artist named Jon McNaughton.

The Los Angeles Times calls McNaughton’s work “junk” because they disagree with his ideas and his politics:

"Titled "One Nation under God," the earlier hack propaganda seems content to pretend that the United States is a Christian nation, with Jesus as the law-giver. (Weirdly, a figure identified as James Madison stands directly behind the Constitution, even though Madison famously rejected any religious sanction for government authority.) A professor of constitutional law who knows that America was instead founded as a secular nation, one where the freedom to practice any religion or no religion is fundamental, would probably blanch if he saw it.”

McNaughton’s response is a quote from Washington:

"I am persuaded, you will permit me to observe that the path of true piety is so plain as to require but little political direction. To this consideration we ought to ascribe the absence of any regulation, respecting religion." (from the Magna-Char ta (constitution) of our country.)

You may or may not agree with McNaughton or with the L.A. Times. But to say that McNaughton wasted paint and canvas and that his work is “junk” is an atrocity in my lowly opinion. He is a superb illustrator who is being “vilified” for differing with the political agenda of “some of the people,” but not all.

It is interesting to note that the L.A. Times and their ilk were fond of the urine soaked painting of Christ that received rave reviews by the "left."

"He Lives!" -- 16x20 mixed media

When you follow your heart and mind, your work and your opinions may not be popular. You may be labeled a “hack” and your product called “junk.” So were the works of Van Gogh and many of his contemporaries who dared to speak out and to create what they felt strongly about.

Do you have the courage to stand up for your beliefs, or will you succumb to popular opinion and the forces of power? Freedom in art and expression must never be suppressed, especially by government or the media that serves that government. The perfect example of this is in Iran, and Russia, and Venezuela, and in Cuba to name a few.

http://youtu.be/4KGlBHyVeYU

"Americana" 16x20 acrylic

America is the world’s last Bastian of freedom. What will you do to preserve and keep it alive?

Retail is not my bag; Painting Gets my Groove on!

I’ve admitted many times that I’m “technically challenged.” Unlike my younger sister who can wire and change an outlet switch, fix a toaster and repair a toilet; I’m a complete idiot when faced with anything that requires a screwdriver, a key, pliers, or a drill.

No wonder I faced with trepidation my first day as a volunteer at the Southwest Florida Artists Co-operative; temporarily located on Fashion Drive at Coconut Point. Of course, I was depending upon my co-worker to take care of anything major. Joan was a pro. She worked there at least once a month. She would have the store open and ready when I arrived. Not!

Traffic obstacles made her almost an hour late; I had opened and greeted three customers before she arrived and not without some grief and hair pulling. First off the power box was locked, or so I thought. The teaching demo a few days ago indicated that it would be open.

I misread the instruction sheet, and interpreted “the back wall” to mean literally the back wall, not the back wall of the utility room so I set off the security alarm in the dark, mistaking it for the Muzak box. Mall Security rescued me from my stupidity and set things straight before any customers arrived. 

When Joan finally set foot on the premises, I don’t think she found my escapades the least bit amusing.

It was a very long day what with only 27 people coming in and out. The curious artists and novices searching for ideas sparked lengthy stays and conversation. Two customers came in and out to avoid a spontaneous cloud burst. Boring!

We took turns going for lunch, and wouldn’t you know when Joan was gone, I spilled part of my soup over the counter when I jumped up to greet three customers. Luckily the tax sheet was covered in plastic. I was wishing I could hide my humiliation and frustration as I mopped up the mess.  In spite of that, I sold a ceramic plaque of Fort Myers beach and managed to write up the cash sale.

"Raccoons at Sunrise" -- acrylic on 16x20 canvas

The best part of the day involved a newlywed couple from Canada (I could tell by the glow on their cheeks) who bought a gift for the host parents and a lovely necklace for the bubbly wife.

They were also interested in one of my paintings and took my business card when I told them they could order prints online. When I closed up for the day, I breathed a sigh of relief as I headed out into traffic.

I’m in between paintings right now, but I’ll have something new for you shortly. We’re dealing with some family medical issues that require time and attention.

"Star Billing" -- 14x18 mixed media on canvas

I’m also repainting some canvases that I wasn’t overly pleased with. I’m going to see if I can salvage the time and materials and turn them into something wonderful Stay tuned!