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.

Are Holidays blurring together or am I just seeing Double?

"Kayla" enjoying her squash, surrounded by pumpkins.

I recently got an announcement for a Christmas project and I haven’t even planned for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Do you ever see your life just whizzing past; the constant hubbub of what to buy and when turning your calendar pages into an animated blur?

Of course, it’s necessary to plan ahead. But why can’t we ever just enjoy the moment. Writers and artists especially must work six months in advance; so must retail markets to stock their shelves and plan their staff far in advance of any sales.

September is “back to school” and the harvest season. Fall leaves and apples dot advertising pages. Halloween and Thanksgiving appear on the same shelves and eventually get crowded out by the upcoming Christmas Season.

"Americana" 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas in barn wood frame

But who am I to deny pleasure and profit to anyone? If I’m slow to get on board or always playing catch-up, I have only myself to blame. It does seem that we hurry from one event to another with little time to enjoy the moment.

When my boys were young, they spent every summer building a spook alley in our basement. They created crawl through tubes out of blankets and boxes. They placed dishes of slimy spaghetti in strategic places, and used flashlights to transfigure innocent faces into ghoulish creatures. What else they did is best left to the imagination.

I wasn’t small enough to crawl through their maize, but they were convinced that each year’s spook alley was better and scarier than the last. The Ring Leader of each year’s project was the “King of Creep,” my son, Sid. He had decorated his own bedroom with the remains of cicada shells pinned to his cork ceiling tiles; would that I could fall asleep under such crunchy canopy.

"Sand crane's Dreams" 18 x 24 mixed media on canvas

What is it about being scared and horrified that people love? I’m a wuss when it comes to horror films. I’d rather not see them. But when I was a child, I reveled with everyone else as mummies and zombies crept from under slime and out of caves to attack our heroes. We screamed with delight and shuddered with fear; the scarier the better.

Maybe it’s an age thing or the “feminization” of our culture. Today on Halloween we see cute little carved pumpkins with grins and missing teeth. Costumes, along with the usual array of goblins and witches, come in a range of harmless monsters like Shrek and Casper.

Of course, zombies have made a comeback. Zombie festivals are making waves throughout the country. Adults who felt deprived in their youth for having missed those early horror films are the first to don a costume and bloody make-up for the thrill of parading down the streets in hopes of scaring someone.

"Raccoons at Sunrise" 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas in barn wood frame

Now is the time to gather together your ideas for crude cards and pitiful paintings to celebrate the season. Black is in and pastels are out. The Season was originally devised to scare evil back into hell. It was called “All Saints Eve.” It was not a day to celebrate evil, but to put it back in its place.

If we’re lucky, perhaps we can make it a day and evening of harmless fun. When did the evil pranks begin, the putting of razor blades into apples, and the destruction of property and people? Keep your kids safe and enjoy the day. Use your art creatively to scare and frighten, but do it wisely and in good conscience.

Featured Artist:
Shijun Munns from Atlanta, Georgia. Here is a link to her post: https://www.facebook.com/artshijun   Followed by her painting: "Blue Boat in the Bay"