Mike Barr Art Blog
Fast food diet
by paintingsuccess , February 25, 2010—12:00 AM
We live in a world that wants things quickly. A drive through the suburbs is now lttered with fast food outlets that satisfies our craving for food as quickly as possible. Even 5 minutes in a fast-food queue will have us tapping our feet impatientlly!
I believe art is going down a similar path. The lure of shortcuts to painting success is to be found in most art magazines. DVDs promise to have you painting like a pro in no time at all. Professional secrets are revealed that will make you a better painter, or so it is implied. Workshops abound in which artists can rub shoulders with professionals and perhaps gain some of that magic dust that makes them paint so well.
I have done many painting demonstrations in which I have revealed all I know while I paint. My family have asked on occasions why I should divulge such things, because surely all these aspiring artists are going to paint like you. The fact is, there is no one that paints like me! If artists thought for one minute that publishing a DVD would have thousands of people being able to paint like them, then production would grind to a trickle!
The one thing that every professional artist knows, is that they have attained to their own level of expertise through many, many hours with a brush. All they can provide for others are pointers in their own journey toward excellence.
The message is, is that we can gorge ourselves with every teaching aid possible and attend workshops all year round - but it is the time we spend with the brush that counts. The brain will digest the treasures of painting through trial and error of working with colour. It's a wonderful feast if we can accept the time it will take to digest.
Happy brush-time!
COMMENTS
( homepage )
03/15/2010 * 23:14:58
Great Message!!! People forget that you must crawl before you can walk. Ie. you must draw before you can paint Etc.....
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02/26/2010 * 10:34:29
For me the most important thing about art is creating and having fun doing it. I am always experimenting and trying new materials and techniques. I do not feel that art could be taught as art is like playing and you do not teach young children to play you just give them toys and let their imaginations run wild. Art should be spontaneous and full of joy and fun. As per time I get lost in creating and never worry how long it takes to create as I am enjoying it all so much that I never want it to end. I guess that is why artists keep on creating because the feeling we get from creating our art is so great. I do a few work shops a year with young art students and I do not teach anything, I give them materials, and let their imaginations run wild. The art they create is amazing because they are just having fun and enjoying all.
02/26/2010 * 06:55:14
This post is right on. I have a post on "Pop Art and the image glut" (way back in the archives) where I argue that the message of Warhol ond Lichtenstein is that the glut of images which we must process every moment of the day has changed the way we see. We must, in our daily lives, process and DISPOSE OF images, not contemplate and enjoy them. This is our "fast food" visual world.
02/25/2010 * 20:04:35
A fine assesment of our "right now" policy on just about anything or every thing! I don't care who watches me paint in public or in private,no one has my skill or knowledge and I don't care how long they watch,they are not John Sweeney,I'm sure my techniques wont make even the best artists better only help them to discover a DIFFERENT style,or way of doing things ,I wish them well and hope they succeed!I do enjoy the occasinal compliment as any artist dose,however I'm not the greatest artist in the world and I don"t even care to be.I love my art work because of the peace it gives me.If someone wishes to copy my style or techniques,great.If the doing becomes greater then the why,they will become proficient,but only after they spnd the time with the brush in hand.If some one can learn something from me,I feel it's the best thing that I ,as an artist can enjoy.After all ,the joy of the teaching will last much longer than he money recieved from the sale of a painting!
Rayanda ( homepage )
03/23/2010 * 15:10:04
Well said! I remember watching a movie once where an artist told a prospective buyer that his painting was $1000. The buyer balked at the price, saying that the work only took the artist an hour to paint. The artist told him, no, that is incorrect, behind every brush stroke is countless hours of blood, sweat and tears. Mollified, the buyer bought the painting.