Excitement versus Passion

I've been thinking a lot this week about the difference between excitement and passion. My whole life I have had a tendency to get very excited about upcoming projects and the possibilities of things to come. My anticipation level gets very high when trying out new and exciting things. But as I'm getting older and I start having problems with blood pressure, and other physical ailments, I'm starting to rethink about how I have previously used my excitement, and my emotions, to press forward and drive myself toward a project and its completion. In a sense, getting excited is wearing me out. I don't want to stop caring about things, about projects and about causes, but I am having to approach it differently now..

I realize that I'm still passionate about things, but what is that dividing line between excitement and passion? For me, when I get excited about a project it becomes all consuming. I think about it as I lay in bed. I think about it as I make my meals. I think about it at the quiet moments of the day and while I'm painting in my studio. I'm finding, at this point in my life, the all consuming quality of excitement needs to change. I need to switch my gears and let passion be that driving force. The difference between excitement and passion, to me, is that excitement has to do with a lot of energy, movement and activity. But the point of excitement is that it's not necessarily focused. In the past I would hype myself up about a project and it didn't matter whether I was focused or not - if there was enough energy it would move me forward. To me, passion is much more focused. It is not about wildness, or ecstatic-ness. It is much more deep-seated than that. Passion is not something that you have to think about all the time. It is there, when it is needed. I don't have to build an environment of energy when something is coming from my heart. I am moving forward now because of my passions, not because of my excitement for something. Each painting is becoming more focused on it’s meaning and expression.

Oftentimes, the painting that I'm most excited about, as I start a new series of paintings, is usually the one that I like the least at the end. In my excitement I forget to think about certain aspects of the painting. Maybe in my haste the composition wasn't plotted out right. Maybe the energy patterns didn't quite capture what I was experiencing in the landscape. Maybe the coloring wasn't deeply felt enough for the harmonies to resonate and to express their relationships. But with passion it seems that there is more time to think about my art, more time to feel about my art, and time to make decisions to come to a successful completion - even if the clock doesn’t indicate that the process has been any longer.

I feel like the four paintings that I delivered to Gallery 360 in April (one which is featured in this newsletter above) we're just that. I didn't get hyped-up going into the studio to paint these paintings. I was happy to go paint them, and happy to spend time on them. My passion for the subject matter and for the process of painting made it easier to commit to my decisions and it was a much more satisfying process.

2021 Partnership - Jeffrey Ryan, Author

 

2020 was such an isolating year that I decided to try to partner with a couple people on projects this year. Throughout this year I will be working with Jeffrey Ryan, author and filmmaker, on a book and film about Ernest C. Oberholtzer. Jeff has been writing books about the Wilderness Society and it’s founding members. Ober was one of them. Jeff and I met up on Ober’s island, Mallard Island, a few years ago. He spent a week on the island researching Ober while I was a caretaker. We kept in touch over the years and decided last year to work on a project together. Soon, the idea of a book and short film about Ober emerged and, with the help of Beth Waterhouse the Oberholtzer Foundation ED, we submitted a grant to fund the endeavor. Sadly, we didn’t get the grant. Happily, we have decided to move ahead anyway. This summer, Jeff and I will be making another trip to Ober’s beloved Mallard to spend a week researching for the project. There also will be a trip to Ober’s childhood home of Davenport, Iowa and maybe another trip or two to the Superior National Forest, Voyageurs National Park and elsewhere. Why Ober? Ernest C. Oberholtzer was the person most responsible for setting aside the land in Northern Minnesota to become national parks and the Boundary Water Canoe Wilderness Area. This project will focus on the development of Oberholtzer's own views on nature and how that led to his interactions with others and, eventually, his legacy of establishing parks along the Minnesota/Canada border. In this era of climate change and threats to the BWCWA there is a need for recognizing Minnesota's own effective visionaries for preserving the earth, to be guides as we try to move forward into this unknown future. Ernest C. Oberholtzer is that Minnesota visionary. Although Oberholtzer canoed thousands of miles throughout northern Minnesota and Canada, taught many people to live off and respect the land, integrated with the local Ojibway communities, lobbied Congress, worked with high-profile law firms and was a founding member of the Wilderness Society, the general public knows little about him. This project will introduce many in the general public to Ober, his vision and his legacy and provide an example of how to move forward in relationship to nature. My role will be focused on the visual aspects of the project. From doing research in the foundation's archives to creating art that supports the narrative, I will help craft the integration of Ober's love of the arts into the project while using the imagery to move the viewer through the journey shared.

Fr-fr-freezing

 

I am in a quandary about the direction of my art activities. I have too many things to do. Too many opportunities.

It has been a strange year in that there has been a world-wide pandemic, people have stayed home and the economy shut down. I, at first, enjoyed the isolation and got to work on my art. I continued to have exhibits, even if few viewed them. But lately, the isolation has been felt and I have been looking for opportunities to reach out to others. And now here I am with too much on my plate.

I have two galleries where I hang my work. The one gallery seems to sell just about anything I give them (Gallery 360) and I am busy trying to keep them supplied.

To counter the isolation of the pandemic, I have tried to partner on projects with a few people and now have a film and book project to work on that will take the whole year.

Although I have done little to nothing advertising art lessons, I now have five real people wanting classes and about one new person a week inquiring.

I am presently working on a commission and have two potential commissions in the pipeline.

Then there are new directions I want to go with my art, like start to paint figures, have an online auction of small works and start to figure out a new method for making large-scale block prints.

All this while having a full time job that is starting to interact more with other artists and, as a result, is becoming more fun and engaging.

But this is too much. I don’t have the time or energy to do all of this. Each opportunity has, at its core, something that I am interested in.

I can’t complain because I know there are many who have had opportunities dry up in the last year. But, sometimes in these types of situations I freeze up, I end up procrastinating as a form of rebellion against my need to make decisions. If I pursue any of these avenues, my mind sees them as potentially being profitable for the next five to ten years. That is a commitment. In the negative, its a prison. In the positive, they all are good opportunities that can lead to even better things.

So much to do, yet I haven’t painted anything in a week. I have been making stretchers, which is a pretty good excuse to spend a little time in the studio and then leave because of the smell of the oil ground. The cold weather also makes it easy to snuggle up in my house and not walk out to the studio, which isn’t heated quite well enough to take off the chill when it is below 0⁰.

So, I freeze. I stop moving. In actuality, I stop being in the present with my self. Sometimes people comment on my productivity, but the actual thing is that I spend a lot of time in the present with myself. I just do naturally what seems innate and that results in something. Others see those results and call that productivity. I just see it as being. I do understand the need to rest, relax, and focus on other aspects of life. But at times like this, those things all start seeming like a pile of activities on top of everything else. I start to lose myself in the avalanche of possibilities. My muscles start to tighten. I freeze. I freeze like a Minnesota February night.

A CALL TO ARMS -- AND LEGS AND PEN AND BRUSH AND CAMERA

I thought all the bad news would be behind us in 2021. But here I am writing again about what is going on in our country from an artist's perspective, instead of writing about color-mixing, or collecting art, or... anything else. This is now becoming a long slog through a dark night. The pandemic has become the ever-threatening background crisis to the ongoing chaos of a political crisis -- there is no place to rest.

As an artist, I have my viewpoint about what is happening within our country and it has to do with culture. Over the length of the Trump presidency there has been a an ever-growing list of complaints from his followers. It started with Colin Kaepernick's kneeling during the national anthem. People claimed that he was disrespecting the flag. These same people then complained that others didn't support the police. They complained that others weren't patriotic for this reason and that reason. They concluded that everyone else was a Socialist wanting to give all their money away to undeserving people. But, eventually, they flipped on all of these complaints. They gave away billions of dollars to people who didn't need it. Since Keapernick, they have introduced all kinds of flags that represent them: Blue Line, Confederate, 3%, and on and on. When the police have tried to create peace and stop or redirect them, they have turned on the them.

There has been one complaint they haven't flipped on. The only consistent complaint has been about a culture of plurality that is taking over the country. They have not flipped and suddenly embraced people of color or people of a different sexual orientation, or even the diverse experiences of women. As our country's population continues to become more diverse, it is only natural that our culture would diversify. It is only natural to expect that the rights and privileges written in our nation's defining documents should apply to all citizens of this nation. But it hasn't always been this way for all citizens. One group of citizens has benefited more than others, have had their rights upheld and opportunities extended beyond those of others, often through threat of violence. They have come to believe that their culture is the true American culture. But the lie to that assumption is becoming obvious. America is not about any one culture but is about the idea of the equity of rights and responsibilities.

As an artist, I welcome a diversity of cultures. I enjoy that our cities and rural areas represent different cultures, become known for those cultures and provide opportunities for education, entertainment and engagement in a variety of forms. I want diverse restaurants. I want diverse theaters. I want every person to have an opportunity to share their story and be heard. I am happy to get to know my neighbors and my fellow citizens. We all deserve to build our culture in peace and security.

There has been much written about the emotional make-up of those who view themselves as victims while bullying others. There has been much written about the toxic mix of men, guns and God, those who justify acting on their anger and greed while blaming others. But I still can't help but believe that most people can be called to a culture that lifts up and values everyone. Right now, that is drowned out in these people's lives by the lies of manipulators and those who are devoid of compassion. Art can be the means to share a different message -- it always has been. It can be a message of hope but also a message of a practical openness, of observing one's environment without prejudgement. Good art shares a view of people without the filters and facades. I truly do believe that art can change the world within a person, which means it can change the world of our broader community.

But this doesn't come easy. For the artist to reach that tipping-point of humanity in others, the artist has to do hard internal work and log years of practicing their craft. The best make our humanity easy to feel and understand, as if it is simple for them to do. But it is not easy. As artists, the time is here to up our game, to focus even harder on reaching people through our work. A time to make people cry, make them gasp, make their hearts swell from beauty, and put a lump of recognition in their throats. It is art that captures the universal in the mundane, that holds a mirror to our soul that reflects all souls. Art makes individuals experience intimacy as a group revealing the small internal moments that can cascade across a nation. It is art that inspires us to be better, to love more, to care more, to be as fully human and humane as we can possibly be. This is a call to arms...and legs, and pen and brush and camera and brain and heart. A call to work together to be better more effective artists. For in the act of coming together to become better artists, society becomes a better place for all.

2020 Was a Very Good Year

  

 
I know, I know. 2020 will go down as one of the worst years in our lives. What with COVID, combative politics, and racial issues in this country just about everyone is worn out and ready for 2021 for a fresh start. I agree with all that, but 2020 was a great year for my art.

I had three exhibits. The first was at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI. This was a great show in a beautiful large gallery space. It showed off my large landscapes well and led to two sales. My next exhibit was at Gallery 360.  It was the first regular art exhibit they had since the lockdowns began. The opening was attended by a good number of people - not too many at any one time but people throughout the entire time. There were numerous paintings sold during the exhibit and one after the fact. My third exhibit was at the Landmark Center in downtown Saint Paul. Although sparsely attended due to the building having limited access, the exhibit was well received and I had a great experience of creating a video of the exhibit.

This spring I sold the painting Grassy Island Rocks which won last year's State Fair competition. It is a great story of how the painting sold, maybe to be told at a later date. There were some additional sales of art and prints throughout the year and some calendars (a new item) sold. I feel extremely blessed to be able to do what I love.

There are many people to thank for this year's success. Of course, there are the people who purchased art, fine art prints and calendars. I have much appreciation for your support of me and my vision. But there are also many other people who help in other ways. A big thank you goes out to my sister, Sharon, who has been helping me with the new studio renovation - and is just always there to lend a hand. Many thanks go to Anastasia Shartin, Merry Beck and Judy Brooks and staff and volunteers who helped with set up of each of the exhibits. After years of hanging my own work, it is so enjoyable to have someone help in these situations. A shout out to my friends at Wet Paint who have the latest scoop on art materials when I have questions and who also are artists who I talk to about making art, not just about buying supplies. A thank you especially to Greg Graham who came out to look at my work and discuss. A special thank you to Dania, my first Patron. A thank you goes out to my daughter, Maddie, who is inspiring me as she is just starting her own creative career, And of course, a thank you to Delilah, my dog, who is my companion in the studio - which can get pretty lonely at times.

I wish the life of an artist was just about painting, but I spend much time doing social media, running my website and applying to galleries and exhibit spaces. Even in these endeavors there are people behind the scenes helping. I have a website host, Art Storefronts, that provides great promotional help and there are other artists with who I consult, write grants and collaborate. And of course, there are those people who follow me on social media and interact with me about my art and activities.

It is a rich life and although it has been the worst of times, it has also been the best of times.

May your holidays be filled with family, friends (at a safe distance) and good food. May your 2021 bring you love, peace and enough prosperity. May you be blessed. Happy New Year and see you on the other side.

Northern Wisconson Commission

 For a long weekend, recently, my studio was a cabin in Northern Wisconsin. In order to paint a commission of the area around a family cabin, I was blessed to spend some time, with my dog, in this natural area. The cabin was a classic Midwest cabin: simple, efficient in it's use of space with beautiful views of the lake and surrounded by lush woods. Delilah and I hiked the logging roads and even went for a rowboat ride on the lake in order to collect some good photos and make sketches. Sometimes there are perks to being an artist. I will be creating a survey of images to present to the client and then creating a final painting from their choice. 

Origins of the Wildman

I spent much of August outside of the studio. The morning after my opening at Gallery 360, I headed up north to Mallard Island on Rainy Lake for two weeks. I slept, swam and enjoyed relaxing with just a handful of people.  While there I worked on four still-lifes for the exhibit at the Landmark Center. There are thousands of books on the island. I was looking for an image of Saturn Eating His Son by Goya to put into a painting but instead found the book Wild Men in the Middle Ages by Richard Bernheimer, 1952. It was a fascinating read about the European myth of the wild man who lives in the woods. These men started as the mentally ill who could not live within society and ended up living in the woods outside of towns and villages. Soon, stories circulated about their "wildness" in order to scare children and keep polite society in line. These myths eventually blossomed into many local legends and eventually evolved into the harlequin of French culture, the monsters of Grimm's fairy tales and even our modern stories about yeti's and Sasquatch. 

Many festivals arose to pay tribute to the Wild Man. During these festivals, men dressed as animals and fantastic beasts would enter people's homes stealing their food. The Wild Man, generally a very large man, protected the other animal-men by threatening anyone who tried to stop them. Soon, it became very popular to establish secret societies of wild men, similar to today's more benign Saint Paul Minnesota's Winter Carnival Vulcans. One story has it that a French King, Charles VI, wanted to participate in a Wild Man festival. He dressed up as a Wild Man and, with others, invaded the queen's quarters. Unable to recognize the king, he was soundly beaten by the queen's guard. Not having learned his lesson, the next year, 1393, he wanted to have a wild man event again. The queen convinced him to hold a masquerade ball, the Bal des Sauvages. With an organized event he could not get beat up by her guards, or anyone else.

That evening, with everyone in costume, the king entered chained to four other top officials dressed as wild men and proceeded to perform a dance. Unfortunately, an onlooker carrying a torch accidentally set one of the dancers on fire. Soon all five dancers, being chained together, were aflame. The four officials died while the king was only saved because a woman in a costume with a large train covered him with her dress and smothered the flames.

As I read the book I began to recognize the Wild Man in many of today's stories: that character that is out of control, unsophisticated, only interested in the moment and his own needs while at odds with society and progress. Sometimes the character becomes a part of society only to eventually revert back to the woods. Characters like Shrek, The Joker, Frankenstein and The Beast from Beauty and the Beast come to mind. In movies, the Wild Man is often layered over the personality of murderers and serial killers. I couldn't help but notice in contemporary political storytelling, the red state rural followers of Trump are presented in this manner. The urban Democrats are presented as the cultured sophisticated elite. It is a powerful myth that reaches into our deepest feelings and reflexes.

The Wild Man eventually made it into one of the paintings I was creating while on the island (see the above Feature Painting). I love the myth of the Wild Man and think he will be appearing again in my art, in concept if not actually in person.