I recently bought an art reference book, which discusses how certain illustrious artists from Degas to Picasso have used photography to document, influence or inspire the creation of some of their most famous works.   The book is quite fascinating, filled with gorgeous photographs to illustrate the concepts and is a large format hardcover book.   However, after starting off on the first paragraph of the introduction, I almost threw it in the bin.      These are a few words taken from just one of the opening paragraphs:  

Synaesthetic,   metonymic,    sacerdotal,    artistic bibelots,    verisimilitude,    mimetic domain,    peregrination,    entropic,    maelstrom,    dichotomy,    fin de siècle,    simulacrum,    epistemological logic,    panchromatic tonal scale,     excoriate,    synecdochial ….

I actually got a headache trying to read the opening sections of this book. Eventually, I abandoned the introduction entirely and concentrated on the individual chapters, which were contributed by different authors.  I persevered. It got easier.    

Whilst I am not averse to using the correct word or phrase, I feel that in some cases, it is more apt and less pompous for a writer to actually take the trouble to use plain old English when describing what he or she is trying to say.     This tome was not touted as an ‘academic’ book, so why use all the confolutin’ language? I looked up the words and by the way, some online dictionaries couldn’t give me any explanation of what some of these terms meant!

Synaesthetic – Involving more than one sense

Metonymic – using a word that describes one of its qualities

Sacerdotal – garments (religious)

Artistic bibelots –  bibelot  – a small decorative object

Verisimilitude – the quality of appearing true

Mimetic domain – mimetic – relating to mimicry

Peregrination – a long journey, travelling to different places, on foot.

Entropic  – having a tendency to change from a state of order to a state of disorder.

Maelstrom – a situation where there is great chaos and confusion (a bit like reading this tome)

Dichotomy – a difference between two completely different ideas

Fin de siècle – relating to the end of the 19^th century

Simulacrum – something that looks like or represents something else.

Epistemological logic – ‘epistemological’ relating to the part of philosophy that is about the study of how we know things

Panchromatic tonal scale – ‘panchromatic’ – using all colours.

Excoriate – to write or say that a book, play, political action is very bad

Synecdochial – Using an inclusive term for something included or vice versa. 

I hope everyone is safe and healthy. Last year was hard for so many people, I just hope that with the vaccines being rolled out all over the place, that we get to crush this Covid thing once and for all during 2021.

You may have noticed that I’m having another go at re-organising this website, and have decided to start including my photography as I take A LOT of photos, some of them not too bad.

I want to make this website my primary place of business going forward. I have quite a large body of work building up, which includes pieces I’ve done for my Uni studies. I have to sell it off, as I’m battling to find storage space. I’ve sold my work on eBay a few times but it does appear that marketing work person to person is how I sell most of my paintings. I have a few reliable patrons who buy work from me off and on – I wonder how I could expand that base?

Where do you guys sell your art? Or if you’re not selling art, do you buy it online? And what kind of art do you buy, from where?

‘Be your easiest self. My work isn’t angry or shocking because I’m not.’

Brian Rutenberg. From his book ‘Clear Seeing Space’ page 288 – Meetings

For many years I’ve had the misconception that in order for my work to have any degree of artistic merit and clout, it must be dark and angry, which is why I have battled to find my own voice – that’s not what I’m about.  I’m not a cynical nihilist (a la Gerhard Richter), I don’t have a cross to bear or a point to prove, I’m not out to save the world.  I just want to paint. I want to feel the paint or any other art medium on my hands every day, I don’t want to do anything else, never have.   I want to paint things that make me happy and in turn make the people who view them happy too. 

I like creating non-representational paintings, many times they end up being a big mess.   Is that then how I was feeling that day?  A big emotional mess?  I have had days, sometimes running into weeks, where everything I painted was a waste of time and effort (at least I thought so at the time).  I’ve struggled with something just there at the edge of my grasp, battled to pull the truth out of what it is I’m trying to convey and it’s felt like I was trying to ram the proverbial square peg into a round hole.  But this is not lost effort, I’ve come to realise that now.  It’s experience, it’s learning, it’s the wonderful job of being an artist.  

When you create a painting, no matter whether it’s a drawing or a painting with actual paint, you are projecting your history, your knowledge of the world, your feelings about the world and your fears of the world into that painting.  Whether you like it or not, your subconscious creeps in and forces you to make little signs.   You might not ever even see those signs but when someone stands in front of your work, they are witnessing first hand how you were feeling when you painted that picture.  They are picking up on all the little hidden signs and messages that your subconscious self has forced you to include in the artwork.  It’s a bit like magic, almost smoke and mirrors really.  With your art, you are transmitting a message to the world, no matter what the subject matter of the painting or drawing is, a part of you is reaching out and trying to touch another person, another mind and trying to make a connection on some deep primordial level. 

And you just thought that drip you made with the cerulean blue was a slip-up.

Brian Rutenberg’s book on Amazon: