apricot blossoms

Bees were humming in the trees to get at these beautiful blossoms yesterday.

Back to work

I've been doing a lot of painting this year but my efforts towards making five yera plans, etc. have been haphazard, the reason being that it's a lot of work and on the boring side. I've been making repeated attempts and some of them have been very good and I've accomplished some really good things this year.
In the past week or so the stars have aligned and not only have I been making new attempts at planning my future, but they've actually been going somewhere. I found out about The Artist's Guide, through a friend's blog and I put it on hold at my local library. I got the book from the library yesterday and from what I've read thus far I think it could be a very useful book. While I was at the library I also had the good fortune to find a copy of the Art in America 2009 Guide. For those of you who are not familiar with the significance of this; Art in America is one of the most prestigious art magazines and their August issue is a "sourcebook to the the art world" in it they list information about museums, artist, awards, schools and a list of galleries for all fifty states. It's a pretty big deal. I was apparently not thinking in August and I didn't just go ahead and buy a copy of said guide, perhaps I just assumed I could get it at the library. Yesterday was the first time I've seen the August issue at the library in the six plus months since it came out, it's an artsy area here and I eventually figured that the libary's copies must have just gotten stolen. I was really excited to be able to check the coveted issue out, I've had a chance to flip through copies other places but it makes such a difference to be able to take it home!
I've learned my lesson, next August I will be buying a copy of the magazine and in the mean time I'm going back to work.

In the spring time...

It's spring, sometimes that means snow or rain and sometimes that means beautiful days like today. I kept thinking of Coldplay's song Strawberry Swing. It was nice to just be outside and sit in the sun for a while today, I don't do that very much. "It's such a lovely day..."

Why Art People Don't Like Thomas Kinkade

There are people that absolutely love Thomas Kinkade...and then there are those of us who despise him.
Art people generally are not in favor of Kinkade, I know I'm not. I was just talking to someone and she asked me my thoughts on Kinkade, and she liked his work and was sort of asking why art people don't like him. Kinkade is the self proclaimed "painter of light" his work is famous for glowing windows and things like that.
I don't like Kinkade's work because it's mass produced kitsch, there are factories that produce over the top floral scenes, cabins with glowing windows, etc. which are sold under Kinkade's name. There are those who would point out that Andy Warhol did the same sort of thing, and they'd be right, however Warhol wasn't really an artist either so we'll skip that debate today. Getting back to Kinkade, art people don't like him because he's ridiculously commercial, you can find almost anything with a Kinkade scene on it...probably even underwear. True art is craftsmanship plus inspiration, art is about beauty and working to perfect something (I'm speaking for myself here, post-modernists and others would disagree, but they can write their own posts.) Thomas Kinkade's work is mass produced like toys from China. Another reason Kinkade is not thought highly of is because his scenes are so synthetic, you couldn't really find them happening in life. People like the scenes because they're like something the people might dream of, like a Disney movie, etc. Anyway, Those are some reasons people in the art world don't like Thomas Kinkade. If you like him, that's your business, just don't call it art.

life

It's funny, sometimes life is very slow and calm and then it speeds up and all bets are off. It's been a busy few weeks and this week looks like it will be very busy too. I'm excited though, this week it's art busy. I'm applying to a few different shows and working on finishing up one serise and starting a new one. It's an exciting time in my life!

Abraham in Egypt

I finally finished Abraham in Egypt by Hugh Nibley today, I have been working on reading it for at least a year. Note: I was not reading it as frequently as I could have. It feels goood though and it was a very interesting book. I recomend it.

General Conference

Once again it's time for general conference! Twice a year LDS people gather to hear from our church leaders. For two days we hear from them and are taught and enriched. I'm looking foreward to hearing from them.