Statement of Philosophy
Robert Mohr, my dear friend and brother-in-law, tells me “the art process is an alchemical scathing, a sort of acid bath for the soul”. Indeed, and after thirty-seven years of professional work, I feel I am just a beginner, a student of art, and therefore, foremost, a student of life ready and eager to learn.
Art instructs, it tells us something about ourselves, and our place in the cosmos. Moreover, great art is not born out of the institutions but forged from the fires of experience. Great Art speaks to us from some sacred place and when we see it, we recognize it immediately. Great Art surrounds us in the gentle breeze playing on the leaves of trees, a flower struggling to “be seen”, or a glimpse of a woman’s thigh. The moment that we recognize art transcends into the moment of our “halleluiah” experience.
My educational and philosophical journey unfolded along a unique path. Through diverse formal and informal education, guidance from an array of great mentors, and personal observations of nature, I have drawn the conclusion that art institutions are valuable in teaching technique, but can be reluctant to teach Art. My technical proficiency in Art certainly evolved from both formal and informal education; however, my soul received nourishment from observations of and musings about nature. Art is born from patient observation and heart felt inspiration. While wrestling with the development my recent portrait of Maestro Chris Wilkins, he presented illuminating concepts about the experience of seeing and creating art. He taught me about the folly of impatience, defining it as a form of violence that kills the art moment. Wilkins was able to guide me gently back towards and bring out the art in me. Art is more than just painting a picture, creating a melody, or weaving a rhyme. We are on the verge of a great loss of this understanding due to modern art movements and technical advances that have teased the senses and often produced vapid results because of a desire for quick, jolting, or predictable outcomes. Our world is in great chaos with rhetoric and propaganda assuring us that quick results are best, assaulting our senses with every means. Art cuts above that maelstrom born from misunderstanding and malcontent, and liberates us from frustration and impatience. We can find Art in quiet observation and reflection of nature, and through this process rediscover our joy of nature, Art, and ourselves. I dare say that the cutting edge in Art institutions has now moved back towards understanding this classical ideal, and a fuller appreciation for Art.
Art brings me back to joy, beauty, truth, and away from impatience, repulsion, and indifference.
As a student and creator of Art, I hope to uphold my credo, which comes from the Keats poem, |