by james | Mar 22, 2014 | aoj blog
What does it mean to be self taught?…. …. I have seen many artists over the years with BFA’s and an MFA’s who know very little about art, and their work is equally uninspiring…. in fact, when they are completed, they spend the first years of their career deconstructing some of what they have learned. This isn’t to say that there is no value in obtaining a degree in fine arts ….and for some, formal instruction I think is necessary as a building block towards being an autodidact….
When I look at my career as an artist I can say that my work is based on my life and all of the experiences I have gained along the way… from the people I have meet, artists I have worked with, techniques I have seen, the schools I have attended, what I have read, seen, and interacted with….. each experience is a building block that adds to my foundation
One of my best experiences happened in the summer of 1987…. I was able to go to the Louvre Museum in Paris….. I remember showing up there and was completely in awe of everything I was seeing…. I was so energized by what I was seeing that I spent the next week going daily to the museum trying to study and learn about every painter and every sculpture, their life, their work… it was so electrifying that when I was done I was able to converse with any art historian with a great deal of certainty and detail about the works in the museum. Seeing these works of art in person, seeing their brush strokes, the detail, their size, really put the value into their significance in history..
So when you ask yourself are you self taught…….. ask if you are learning only from yourself and what you can draw from within, or are you learning from other people…teachers, writers, other artists both dead and alive, magazine resources, workshops on techniques, books, the successes of others, the mistakes of others, comments and critiques….. experimenting on what you have learned and shaping it into all that is you
for me its an easy answer… my art is the journey, my experiences are my building blocks, and it doesn’t end after the class is over….its just beginning…
have a great week everyone!
……peace
………..james
by james | Mar 15, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey everyone;
Once in a while its good to take a break and relax… lately I have been on a kick to find and watch all the movies I can about painters… searching the internet I found 383 movies about painters… so I started my journey… heres what I have seen and recommend so far….
Frida– Frida (2002) This account of Mexican surrealist pioneer Frida Kahlo is visually stunning, not only in portraying her life but in bringing several of her most famous paintings to life on the screen. Salma Hayek performs beautifully in the title role.
Pollock- Pollock (2000) Ed Harris’s pet project about groundbreaking modern artist Jackson Pollock garnered critical acclaim, Academy Award nominations (and a win for Marcia Gay Harden as Pollock’s wife), and is certainly worth checking out.
Paradise Found- (2003) Kiefer Sutherland. Paris, 1880. Paul Gauguin is a successful financier. He lives in Paris with his wife Mette and their four children. But when his passion for painting becomes a mission to revolutionize art, Gauguin must unleash the savage within himself. To do so he gives up his job and comfortable lifestyle, leading his family into a downward spiral of poverty and travels to Tahiti. His voyages take him even further from his beloved family and teach him the true meaning of the word sacrifice. What price must he pay in order to pursue his dream?Surviving Picasso
Basquiat– Basquiat (1996) Depicting postmodern graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and his troubled rise to fame, this movie marks the directorial debut of Julian Schnabel, originally a painter himself and a former colleague of the artist.
Lust for Life- (1956) Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn. Vincent Van Gogh is the archetypical tortured artistic genius. His obsession with painting, combined with mental illness, propels him through an unhappy life full of failures and unrewarding relationships. He fails at being a preacher to coal miners. He fails in his relationships with women. He earns some respect among his fellow painters, especially Paul Gauguin, but he does not get along with them. He only manages to sell one painting in his lifetime. The one constant good in his life is his brother Theo, who is unwavering in his moral and financial support.
Factory Girl– Factory Girl (2006) Focusing on muse and model Edie Sedgwick, this movie offers an alternate perspective into the world of Andy Warhol’s famous Factory collective.
Modigliani- (2004) Andy Garcia. Set in Paris in 1919, biopic centers on the life of late Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, focusing on his last days as well as his rivalry with Pablo Picasso. Modigliani, a Jew, has fallen in love with Jeanne, a young and beautiful Catholic girl. The couple has an illegitimate child, and Jeanne’s bigoted parents send the baby to a faraway convent to be raised by nuns. Modigliani is distraught and needs money to rescue and raise his child. The answer arrives in the shape of Paris’ annual art competition. Prize money and a guaranteed career await the winner. Neither Modigliani, nor his dearest friend and rival Picasso have ever entered the competition, believing that it is beneath true artists like themselves. But push comes to shove with the welfare of his child on the line, and Modigliani signs up for the competition in a drunken and drug-induced tirade. Picasso follows suit and all of Paris is aflutter with excitement at who will win. With the balance of his relationship with Jeanne
Painters Painting- (1973) The definitive documentary on the New York School Painters. Featuring footage of all the major figures of the New York Art Scene between 1940-1970, showing many of the artists before they became famous.
Seraphine- (2008) The tragic story of French naïve painter Séraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (1864-1942), a humble servant who becomes a gifted self-taught painter. Discovered by prominent critic and collector William Uhde, she came to prominence between the wars grouped with other naïve painters
I still have plenty to go.. but I am committed to see as many as I can… have a great week everyone. enjoy a movie!
…peace
………………james
by james | Mar 8, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey everyone;
When you ask people what type of painter I am you will likely get a variety of responses… from Abstract expressionist to pop artist to mixed media, to not quite sure…lol… I have always fought not to have labels in my life, but I guess if I had to fit myself inside a box or pick a category it would be abstract impressionist. Its relatively a newly coined term… I went to wikipedia and here is what I found:
Abstract Impressionism is a type of abstract painting (not to be confused with Abstract Expressionism, a similar but different movement) where small brushstrokes build and structure large paintings. Small brushstrokes exhibit control of large areas, expressing the artist’s emotion and focus on inner energy, and sometimes contemplation, creating expressive, lyrical and thoughtful qualities in the paintings. The brushstrokes are similar to those of Impressionists such as Monet and Post-Impressionists such as van Gogh and Seurat, only tending toward Abstract Expressionism. While in the action painting style of Abstract Expressionism brushstrokes were often large and bold and paint was applied in a rapid outpouring of emotion and energy, the Abstract Impressionist’s short and intense brushstrokes or non-traditional application of paints and textures is done slowly and with purpose, using the passage of time as an asset and a technique. Milton Resnick, Sam Francis, Richard Pousette-Dart, and Philip Guston were notable Abstract Impressionist painters during the 1950s. Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956), known as Jackson Pollock, was a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, and Canadian artist Jean-Paul Riopelle helped introduce Abstract Impressionism to Paris in the 1950s.
Elaine de Kooning coined the term “Abstract Impressionism”[1] and it was soon used by critic Louis Finkelstein in an attempt to distinguish for Philip Guston the difference between the two forms.[2] The primary difference is in approach. The similarity between the two forms, however, is in the final outcome – what is acceptable as a finished piece.
Lawrence Alloway curated an exhibition of the same name in 1958 and included, among others, Bernard Cohen, Harold Cohen, Sam Francis, Patrick Heron, Nicolas de Staël. A contemporary heir to the Abstract Impressionist form is William Duvall, whose Eco-Abstract paintings are done outdoors.
Great to know that I am in some amazing company…..lol… Have a great week everyone… talk to you soon
…….peace
…………………..james…
“Secret Combination” 48 x 60, oil on canvas
by james | Mar 2, 2014 | 2014
Here is my latest…. it is 10 ft x 4 ft, oil on canvas.. it is titled “stake out” ….hope you all enjoy.. we will have another one out shortly
price: 1800.00 USD
close up view #1
close up #2
close up #3
by james | Mar 1, 2014 | aoj blog
Some say a painter can expect to produce around 1000 pieces of art during their lifetime… Picasso was said to have well over 3500 pieces at his time of death. .. Sieglinde and I have lost count but we think its a little over 500… For me I have always wanted to have a significant body of work… as the artist changes so does their style… and the body of work is the best way to tell a story of the journey, ….the ups the downs…. the truth, and the triumphs. For me the most exciting part is the energy I feel right before I finish one and then the anticipation of starting another one… This is all part of the artistic process, but one of my main objectives in building a body of work is staying active in the studio and creating as much as I can on a regular basis.. I try to paint everyday and if not able I am usually sketching in my sketchbook.
Below are pics of a small portion of our body of work on show at the VIP booth at Reggae in the Desert and our gallery , Matters of Abstraction, studio 7
have a great week everyone… talk to you soon
……..peace
……………….james
VIP booth at the Las Vegas, Reggae in the Desert
Matters of Abstraction, Studio 7
