Creative Musings (a start)

I had lunch with my friend Kevin today. He regularly posts to his blog, which is the predominant format of his site. I, on the other hand, have never really seen the need for a blog. But Kevin said that my website needs to be warmer. "It just shows a lot of paintings. Nice paintings, but just paintings. There should be more about you", he said.

I often think that people who buy my art really just want to buy my art. In other words, that they are not really interested in the person who held the brush or how the paint got onto the canvas. But that is silly, I actually know better. I have sold my art on the internet for going on five years now. And I can recall some of the people who have actually asked what inspired this, or where did I get the idea for that as well as a few lengthy articulations that conveyed their own experiences when they viewed my paintings, or at least their online images. Sometimes these comments have baffled me, how can they see such depth in my work? But art is subjective and, when successful, evokes something within the viewer. Happily, my art has, on occasion, done this.

One customer exchanged a great number of emails with me, very well-written and citing a number of sources of inspiration for me. He was a true appreciator of art and we had similar tastes. I was honored that he selected three pieces of mine for his collection. And I know that our exchange enriched his experience of those pieces and likely does to this day.

I guess my point is that people would probably appreciate knowing more about me and why I paint, what inspires me and how I feel about what I create, even though they may be reticent to actually ask. So after Kevin's comment, I immediately thought about something I read in one of the books I am reading entitled "Taking the Leap". The author suggests keeping a visual diary, a journal of ideas and thoughts about my art, noting that most important artists have kept some sort of art journal. After reading that I thought, "I am starting one today!" Now, five days later, it still lays in the studio, pristine and unmarked.

So my thought today was that I could share some of what I sketch in my art journal on my blog. Of course I still have to start it! But I have lots of ideas, sometimes so many that I get that overwhelmed feeling that I will never have enough time to explore all of them. And I probably won't, in fact probably shouldn't in many cases as I am sure some ideas may seem viable in my mind, but may not translate to a visual image. But that doesn't matter. It is the thinking, the imagining, the doing that matters.

So I am starting tonight, really. Really. More to come...