How long did that take?

Someone is looking intently at an artwork, turns to the artist and innocently asks: "How long did it take you to do that?". Ugh.

It makes an artist cringe. Some artists, feeling defensive, reply with a flippant "My whole life!" To an artist, the question insinuates perceived worth. I used to patiently consider the question an ice breaker, a safe way for the viewer to engage in conversation because they are not sure how to approach otherwise. Now I'm suspect.

Time, labor, materials, size. It's frustrating to deal with so much attention to physicality. I don't mind discussing technique. It's the reference to time = $$$ that increasingly annoys. If I say a canvas took me half a day because the painting session was immersed in a zen-like creativity, the reaction is...polite respect. However, numeration involving pained hours and hours (even months) spent on a piece concurs head-nodding monetary merit. Calculating value by the hours expended in a creation of art is not an indication of what it should cost.

"My whole life" really is. Accrued skill takes a lifetime of patience and persistence. It parallels general life experience and evolves into a total package as the artist becomes the art and the art IS the artist.

"The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run." - Henry David Thoreau

Musings About ArtPrize

Twenty-four hours or so remain in the first round of public voting. The top ten (from over 1,700 artists) are announced this Thursday and the voters will continue to choose winners from that drastically whittled list.

This is the second year for the competition and it has attracted some impressively flashy installations containing all-encompassing shows of light, sound and movement. These extravaganzas seem to be the front runners for attention grabbing (and votes) along with varying pieces of incredible originality. News of the quarter million dollar top prize has spread across the planet and this year's entries are on mega-steroids boasting a cast of collaborators. So, what chance has a 2-D traditional oil on canvas (yawn) even if the format is large and multiple and explores boundaries of speed and spatial relationships?

Not much, even if last year's winner was a gigantic oil painting of open water by Ray Ortner. That was last year...this year's entrants include a 25,000 lb. flying pig, after all.

My experience with ArtPrize has been nothing short of amazing. Being chosen by a private curator to exhibit at the DeVos Place Convention Center was an extreme honor. My piece hangs just inside the front doors and is viewable from the street. It's my personal magnum opus and assures me that I CAN be competitive, especially within genre. Yes, I'm already planning for next year. Oh, and I did get a nice shout out on the local news station's website: see it here.

"Some people don't like competition because it makes them work harder, better." - Drew Carey

Tabletop Art

Here's my answer to the statement: "I don't have any more room on my walls for artwork":

Tabletop art!

These mini canvas giclee fine art reproductions are 5"x7" and suitable for tables, your desk or that tiny wall that just needs "something".


Almost any of my images can be a mini, provided that the size is rectangular in format. Vertical as well as horizontal.

It's not my original idea. My studio partner Jackie sells the heck out of these with images of her Florida landscapes.

Only $25.00. E-mail me if you'd like to add one to your collection. Yes, you DO have room.

Saratoga update: The heavens are conspiring to make my dream a reality. An anonymous donor sent a check off to NYRA for my vendor fee. Another wonderful donor is sponsoring my housing and a couple of angels have provided expense money. I'm SOOO blessed. The $10,000 target I initiated is at $6,500. and I'm confident that I'll realize the balance or pretty darn close through sales, unexpected income, etc. I'm overwhelmed and very, very grateful.

ArtPrize update: The DeVos Place Convention Center has chosen my entered piece "Diagonal" to exhibit in Grand Rapids, Michigan during the ArtPrize competition from Sept. 22nd to Oct. 10th. I'm in great company and honored to be a part of this incredible event.

“What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.” - unknown