This website will be an ongoing effort, so if it gets messy,
think of it as an effort to produce a piece of performance art
"(Insert deeper meaning here.)"
I think I'm an 'Urban' Outsider artist who is morphing into something
Of which I am not quite sure has a definition.
So much art I see today is pretentious and justified by deep psycho-babble.
I admire the ability of many artists to be paid for their pandering. I am disappointed by the sheep herd instincts of many
amongst the art-buying public. They go from event to event, looking to view the work of the latest gallery darling, who often
is working to shock their sensibilities and fleece their wallets - all under the cover of being true to their (a)muse(ment).
This works for those who promote them. But I am left feeling that I can derive more esoteric entertainment value by visiting
a Waffle House on a late friday evening and watching the interactions between the wait staff and the inebriated public who
wander in to get some munchies.
Where is your talent? How far can your personal connections or the
words carried on the lips of critics, investors and speculators carry you without artistic substance to your works? Being
declared nouveau 'edgy' isn't necessarily something to aspire to. Solid skills, lasting works of beauty,....... these mean
something.
I didn't think much about art or artists prior to finding that I might
have some latent talent for creating it. I didn't act upon the potential until experiencing a mid-life upheaval. Now the world
about me is filled with more artists than I ever thought existed. One may not swing a deceased biological organism possessed
of a tail without striking one or two of them.
I created art at the beginning of my interests in it as a measure
of belying the stress I felt in my everyday workday world of deadlines and billable hours. I read and taught myself new skills
and techniques as I worked through the major changes which life throws at many of us. I have developed several stylisitic
interests which I pursue through my works. As a measure of my connection with the art-buying public, I find to my surprise
that more than 50% of my career output (so far) has been purchased by the public which doesn't frequent galleries or read
the trade journals. And this is very self-satisfying because it means I am connecting with customers for whom an art purchase
is a matter of both esotericism and practical decorative needs.... i.e. they connect with the work on a personal level and
it fits in with their decor or perhaps covers the hole in the bathroom drywall for a reasonable price....
But I want to explore the potential of my work being more than just
an avocation.
Then again, I would like to achieve this without selling out. But
seeing as I have not made many in-roads with the 'art world'; I remain the Outsider... But not the Tennessee hills type. Not
a visionary artist.
No, I have been exposed to a wider world, been educated, and have
worked at any number of mental and manual pursuits. My friends and acquaintances are often surprised to learn that I am an
artist. They are further surprised when they see my works either on the web or in person.
So here I am, working quietly - more or less... I paint as I have
taught myself to paint. I work at my art from many stylistic vantage points. I am not plugged into the larger art world except
through occasional opinions like this. Even so, this is not a two way interaction. My interest in art has grown from one of
just pleasing myself and my wife to hoping to make my creative output my vocation some day. Hence the tag of Urban Outsider.
