I did not go to art school, so maybe there are many things I could have learned. But I have given up worrying about them.
The one thing no art school can prepare a student for… was the wonder of living in a solitary world of one’s own creation, the intensity of that experience, and that connection that waits in the work if you persist.
Anyone who claims to be uninspired is lazy. Inspiration is engendered by work. Get to work. Simple.
Inspiration is what motivates the artist to do a painting — but one could do a perfectly fine painting without inspiration.
The creative process is a religious act; you have to be true to it. Show up every day at the same spot in your studio/place of work, and your creativity will show up whether you expect it to or not.
How can I make a poetic, metaphoric painting that speaks to our common humanity and our relationship to nature?
Q: If you were not an artist, what would you be? A: I would not be.
Social media is great for getting your work seen by many people, but it’s a double-edged sword. The presence of galleries is shrinking, and there’s still nothing like standing in front of a work in person, to see the paint and the way the artist handles the brush or the chalk.
An artist who reaches a prodigious level of skill and then comfortably continues to produce work of that kind without continuing to push himself outside his comfort zone has reached the end of his creative development.
Creating is not necessarily putting a mark on a page. Observing and dreaming are all part of the creative process.