A lot of things in the world of painting which are now common were inspired by a pragmatism. The impressionists often painted in pleine air because it was easier than dealing with the types of studios which they could afford. They used each other and friends, family and lovers as subjects since this would be less expensive than using professional models.
The painter doing self-portraits also came about from such considerations. Occasionally, it does have an aspect of symbolism, the painter proclaiming themselves as such, pledging a lifetime of serving the process.
My oeuvre contains many self-portraits. Sometimes just a body part. at others times my mug. There is no symbolism in this. Either I had some paint left in palettes or I wanted to get to work without dealing with anyone else. Initially, there was a time & money pragmaticism for the subjects of my portraits. Now I prefer to use the people from my inner circle since we have an established trust where they offer up an emotional honesty rather than anything which would be too academic or glam.
My mission is to offer up emotional honesty in my work since truth is beauty. The portrayal of myself, warts and all and of flesh in general is a major part of my lexicon.
Linguine my ever present Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
There was an article recently about the two most influential modern artists. It got me thinking about the nature of art’s current influence. Art has become specialized. People still flock to museums but the casual viewer is there because of the totem they have made of any given artist, the mythos as it applies to them.
Picasso was important to his peers because of how he freed them up to pursue their own North Stars. The appeal now? He has become a sort of shorthand for being able to do whatever you want, seemingly effortlessly and make money, scribble on a napkin to pay for a roomful of people’s dinner at a four star restaurant, grab a collector/gallerist or peer’s wife by the breast and have everyone laugh and clap. It holds great appeal for people who aspire to become famous from nothing more than becoming an influencer or reality television star.
Picasso was an ass for sure. But credit where credit is due, he spent the majority of his day working in front of an easel and when not directly applying brush to canvas it was one of the things foremost on his mind.
People now admire Picasso not for what he did, nor what he freed up in others but because in their minds he was sort of proto reality start/influencer. They think of all they could do if they could be Picasso-like, not realizing that you can’t wish to be sui generis and still live the life you live now as you live it. That is the wish though and artists have become a totem divorced from what their reality was.
Painting has suffered the same divorce from reality. People have grown used to looking at art online often the artist’s hand/brushstroke is not as apparent and sometimes digitally smoothed out. A.I has made it worse, images made to look “real” quoting if not outright reproducing famous paintings & images do not even attempt to appear made by human hands.
These factors combined with the fact that everyone has a cellphone with which to photograph the minutia of their lives and how to look at and enjoy a painting is forgotten.
The casual viewer does not want to see the artist’s hand, they want machine like perfection as seen on their screens or phones. A painting is judged “good” now by how close to hyper realism it is. If a painting of a face can’t be mistaken for a photo then it is not good. (to me 99% of the hyper realism stuff is all technique and no soul. You forget it a soon as it it not in front of your face).
The only exception to all this seems to be some of the well known paintings, Van Gough, Monet’s waterlilies et al. With those though appeal is artificial story the viewer has told that they insert themselves into.
I was at a museum in Paris looking at one of these well known paintings and a twenty something woman stood next to me with the corners of her mouth turned down. I had to ask what was wrong. She showed me the image of the painting we stood before on her phone. She looked down at it then up. She showed me the image on the phone then waved her hand as if swatting away an insect at the painting;
“What’s all that?”
It was the impasto strokes of the brush on canvas.
For my works, I want my pieces to look like the subject but to also capture the truth of the moment before me. I am not afraid for a painting or drawing to look like painting or drawing. This is simple but important advice I would give any painter.
Spaghetti Night 9×12 inches Rembrandt cold pressed fine grain
Tongue my ever present Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
I want a discernable style but to avoid ever lapsing into mere mannerisms. To prevent this while also growing my chops, I constantly mix things up. I use different styles of paper, various pencils.
It had been a while since I used tan multi-media paper. For this piece I returned to it but in a smaller size.
Much like the motivation behind using pencil extenders, deep affection for serving the process, I enjoy the challenge of doing a smaller piece with whatever paint remains in my palettes.
Verse One Watercolor & Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
Verse Two Tan Multi-Media Paper 9×12
Always looking for interesting people to draw, email for details
Duke Ellington famously said that there are only two types of music, good and bad. Now more than any other time it is easy to explore. This is a freedom more should take advantage of as there could be something out there waiting for you that is currently lazily being written off as “Nah not my thing” .
Although seemingly far removed from what people know as my musical taste, i do enjoy Robin Trower. He mixes virtuosity with an emotional cadence. While this is not the first thing I reach for nor remotely indictive of my taste, when in the mood it hits the spot.
I used my at home watercolor set up & Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
Always looking for subjects to draw paint, email me for details
My first painting of 2026. It is 9×12 Rembrandt Cotton Paper, cold pressed. For paints, I used my studio set up which is a mix of companies, all professional grade.
I am always looking for people to draw/paint. I get my share of unsolicited submissions. More important to me than “beauty” or the typical idea/portrayal of it is an emotional honesty. That allows me to convey emotions that will keep the finished work interesting in the audience’s mind, long after the viewing of it is done. It is odd when I receive photos of people in traditional academic poses or overly glammed out ones. For the academic poses, it is how one is “supposed to” learn to draw bodies & anatomy. It is a sort of trap since it is establishing a foundation within the artist which will lend an air of be stilted or overly academic in future works.
The impressionists were revolutionary not merely because of their use of colors and effects of ambient shadow and light. An equal important aspect was that they were among the first to eschew having the subject matter be historic/biblical/mythic. Instead they painted one another or friends and denizens of their neighborhood going about their daily lives. (Courbet and Millet were proto impressionists )
The lives which they conveyed when viewed now sometimes seems of another world but the canvas still radiates emotions, the beauty is not trapped under museum glass. It is because it all comes from real experiences and emotions.
For both artist and model, do what is real and the truth for you. I am fortunate to have an inner circle that trusts me and whom I have painted for years. They trust me enough to not merely give me their idealized version of themselves. I have always said that truth is beauty. This is part of an overall technique which is how I work and that many painters have utilized:
Everything for an artist is impressions which is then transmuted into expression via the work.
My trip was successful which means that I will once again get back to Cinefield® work. I did these two paintings, both of which are sort of road adventures.
Premium Supreme (selfie) was done on Rembrandt 9×12 inch cold press/fine grain paper.
The Look Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
Both used my usual studio paint set up .
With the holidays upon us might I recommend perfect gift:
I am deep into working on my novella. I have been painting and drawing only as I can not split my concentration to the degree that my Cinefield® requires.
Excitingly, in a little under a week I will find myself on the road again for a short trip to collect raw materials (photos) for my next Cinefield® work.
Here are recently done drawings. They are all executed quickly. A methodology I heard about via a book on Matisse which has served me well:
Do drawings as fast but accurately as possible. If one can capture the essence of a thing or spirit of a person via quick execution, then it becomes easier when going slowly drawing/painting.
On a personal level I also have learned to work fast as I never want to be lumped in with the “writers” and “artists” one sees in Starbucks et al, where it is more a performative thing than actually doing work. Yes, yes we see you, you are writing. Ok settle down Tarantino….
Most of my drawing and Lyra pieces are done in Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
Working on novella still. I have been maintaining my allotted time for my visual work too as it is of equal importance to me (on top of nightly drawing i.e woodshedding).
These two pieces I mostly used Rembrandt paints.
The paper is:
Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
Rembrandt Watercolor Paper 9×12 140 lb cold press
Here are two posts about the paper and the paints:
Drawing is the basis of art. A bad painter can’t draw, but one who draws well can always paint. Arshile Gorky
Drawing is the intellectual basis for painting. Matisse
As I continue to work on my novella & paint, i also draw daily. This always gives me great joy. It need not be a work others will see nor even one i will keep. A pencil nubbin on a scrap of paper, serving the process in this humble way excites me as much as one of my serious framed works.
I have a mission in what I want to do, convey emotions so that the viewer comes away feeling something. However, there are not specific parameters of what I will draw/paint to meet this goal.
I prefer the real, which to me is always beautiful, over the conventional notion of beauty. I am fortunate to have a stable of people who model for me, trusting me so that what I get is not the studied, academic poses but rather the more real.
Mostly I used Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches This is a mix of pencil pieces and water soluble graphite.
Fall is unarguably here. I am once again in process of becoming familiar with when the ambient sunlight is where I need it to be for painting.
As I continue writing my novella I paint, changing up the size and style of paper for each piece. This one is done on Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches .
Paper Life Painting 