Now I’ve started blogging, I think about ideas for blogging all the time. The dam has broken forth! And what a helpful, insightful tool. I thought all this writing and theory would take up my valuable ‘making’ time, but it does the opposite. I create more! In fact, I think my making has improved. Because my thoughts are considered, my brush strokes, my pencil markings, my mouse clicks are intentional and deliberate. There is a time for the Surrealist automata approach: expressing the subconscious. And there is a time for working consciously. There is reason instead of happy accidents. Happy Accidents are great, but they take time. Lots of mindless making did lead to break through, eventually; but thinking about the What and Why means I make progress quicker. I greatly enjoyed the Theory of Art lectures at University. But one question a professor posed resonated with me: Should we, the viewer, have to read a blurb on a piece of art before we ‘get’ their art? Should we have to a read a book about an artist to understand their practice? At the time, I answered, no. We are visual artists; the art shouldn't need to be explained into words. Right? Well, now, with more insight, perhaps, yes. I used to think if a visual work can be explained into words, then perhaps it should not be visual.

All throughout high school, I really disliked: Damien Hurst (mainly because his work sells for insane amounts and I don’t see much skill to it, and I’m jealous). But after reading a few exerts about his What and Why, I may not like the aesthetics of his work, but I appreciate it more. Same with Picasso. I couldn't see the forms he painted as anything but messy, and because he couldn't draw well. But I have a new founded respect and great appreciation for his work after reading a book on him. Also Mark Rothko. After watching a documentary on him, I can sit in front of his paintings and absorb the deep color tones, and feel something more than: this is a waste of time, why am I looking at two blocks of color?! I have a deeper appreciation and love for the works I complete when I write about them. I have more of a connection with artists that I have read their ‘story’ and know their Why and What. Thanks for stopping by! Evelyn