I painted today after two days of not having done so. Painting takes up a lot of time, its not something that can just “fit in” a two hour window throughout the day. After cleaning the brush, the palette and establishing what you will work on - not to mention putting out and mixing pigment - that’s an hour right then and there. All to say, it's okay that I didn't paint for the last few days, I wasn't not doing art related things that are important (however still subordinate) to the act of painting itself.
Yesterday, on the 4th of July, me and Magdalene went to Half Priced Books. This is a biannual pilgrimage that we make because all of the HPB in Houston have been pushed out to the fringes of the city - I’ll never understand why. In short it takes a long while to get there and when I do go I always spend about $100 dollars on books so it’s not a mission that can be frequented often thankfully.
My loot was strong as usual, I am amassing quite the collection. I bought books on Matisse, The Fauves (my favorite of the picture books), a book called “Thinking About Art” (because I don't do enough of that), a book on Byzantine Art and a collection of Clement Greenberg essays from 1940-49. I started reading the Greenberg book and wow is it heady, but I know if I sufficiently dust off the cobwebs I will be able to absorb it. The degree of intellect this man possessed is impressive to say the least. It’s not an accident that he remains relevant 50+ years later.
I started reading “Avant Garde and Kitsch”. I understand the basic premise of this seminal work by Greenberg which is essentially: “How can X art (good art) exist in the same society in which Y art (bad art) exists?” It’s when he delves into the details that I spend 10 minutes per page, but it is worth understanding. Greenberg felt that Kitsch had consumed society in the time in which he wrote this - or at least was beginning to consume society. I can’t even imagine how he would feel now.
Is everything now “kitsch”? If so, where does that leave one who strives to transcend the category, or is that even possible in a post-modern society where it is impossible to divorce commodification from art? Are these musings even productive when it comes to maintaining an art making habit, especially at such a professional precarious pocket of my life right now?
Honestly, probably not. It is unclear to me the degree in which I should have my finger on the pulse of art society whilst making my own art and trying to tap into the infinite pool of creative and original output I know I possess deep down. I look at this book of The Fauves and I absolutely love so much of the painting in the book, its so free and beautiful. It’s so relaxing and I want to live inside of these pictures by Matisse, Derain and Vlaminck. I too want to make pictures that serve as a vacation for the eye, the spirit and the soul.
This is ultimately what a painter like Matisse is known for - he said something to the effect of wanting his pictures to be like an armchair for the bourgeois. This to me is both a profound and superficial conceptual aim for picture making, but I relate, and I feel what Matisse aimed for when I look at many of his pictures. I am not optimistic about the current nor future state of the world and I want to provide myself and those around me with respite in my paintings.
That said it is not helpful to look at the “cool/hip/popular” art that artists right now are making. I don’t even know how that work would be described anyway and truth be told I don’t follow any of the big contemporary painting Instagram's anyway, so I am intentionally ignorant. I do also need to make paintings that have a commercial market, that's what this website is about.
I actually love making these small pictures. They are great exercises in alla prima painting. They are great lessons in loosening brushwork and developing paint handling encapsulated in a finite window where a painting both begins and ends.
I made a painting today, and it didn't go very well but I'm actually glad about that - it wasn't a complete waste either however. I painted a Ruffles chip bag, and I did not give enough attention to my drawing early on and it became problematic later. The part of the bag where the main lettering is all crumbled up is a nightmare and didn't come out well, all because I too casually attended to that detail early on.
This was a good reminder that these paintings cannot be “phoned in” - I’m not good enough to do that nor would that be any fun if I was anyway. It’s important to still be able to lose when it comes to making these pictures, it means there is still risk involved and if I don’t try they won't be good and ipso-facto they wont sell (potentially). Let’s not be too idealistic here. It is not like if they're amazing either, there is any guarantee they will sell either.
Whatever the case, building up this collection will make me a stronger painting and will train my eye. I do wonder often how successful this store will be. When I am feeling good and confident I am assured that this will work, however when I’m not feeling so hot the path to that conclusion isn't as straightforward. I do ultimately believe this store will be a hit, I trust in my skills across the board to successfully put the pieces together to build something real here.
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