What qualities in the human spirit are unchanging and compelling, and how can an artist convey these, building on the achievements of the past while innovating for a contemporary audience?
All good artists feel that their ultimate goal has yet to be achieved, and each artwork is only a partly successful attempt to reach that goal. It drives artists to continue to create and explore.
I didn’t call myself an artist until I felt I had earned it by making work that was really worth something.
I try to draw every day. It does not have to be great; I just do it. I carry a tiny Moleskin sketchbook and Micron pens with me, and I sketch on the subway. Should I see a scene that has a special appeal, I will draw it.
What is the most important quality in an artist? Truthfulness trumps talent. A capacity for joy beats conscientious drudgery.
I believe the most important quality of an artist is truly connecting with your own work. Therefore, one’s work must be personal.
Does the work transmit the qualities, the kind of experiences and the intuitions I’m after? Is the painting transmitting the amazing relations of color and light, matter and formation, that painting is able to bring to our eyes and intuition?
Too many artists, and way too many people, are bent on impressing more than connecting with others. Impressing is walling yourself off, connecting is letting your guard down, which takes more confidence and guts than the self-effacing get credit for.
I’m always asking myself how it’s possible to create something meaningful from something commonplace. Painting is a way for me to try to prove that poetry, beauty or whatever else you want to call it comes from how you see versus what you see.
Every small meditative thought can contribute to artistic pursuits. In that regard, making coffee and staring out of the window can be considered a part of the creative process. And I do both several times a day.