Who Is Your Art Hero?

I recently reached out to my longtime Art Hero – someone I admire for both her artwork and also her tenacity (some call it grit!). She is a significantly professionally-successful artist whom I first encountered before she Made It Big, and as a part of my own journey, I just wanted to let her know how much her artwork has meant to me over the years and how deeply it has personally inspired me.

I was nervous, yet simultaneously expecting a warm response. I think I expected this because her work is so process-oriented and seems to be a labor of love. I was thinking that someone who is so hard-working and talented would be in a state of humility about her gift and her labor and be happy to connect with a true fan.

I am very happy to say that I called it exactly right! My Art Hero not only responded to me, but she did so with grace and kindness. She went a bit out of her way to engage me in a particular conversation. It made me feel……..so important, so appreciated, that I am her fan and care about her work. I am so glad that I reached out to her!

It feels often to be the case that artists can be innately solitary creatures, with a disdain for sharing too much about their work and their processes, and that to share their work or to join their art community is a difficult process of letting go of the fear of judgment or in fear of the opposite; of being ignored. Sometimes artists practically covet their own ideas, and simply want to deny others the chance of being influenced. (I paused in my writing here, to do a search so I can read what others think about this, and quickly found writings about Artists and Loneliness; to be explored in a future post, perhaps.). Whatever the reason, it is not always the habit of an artist to reach out to others and commune with them. By reaching out to my Art Hero, I ignored the call to alone-ness and found a real benefit to making that connection.

Who is your Art Hero, and are you willing to reach out and make that connection?

Is the Frame also the Artwork?

I spend so many hours on each painting. I’ve got my process and sticking to my process is like a ritual for me. It’s so essential because it reliably leads me to that magical moment when I feel that the work is satisfied and has a completeness that needs to be left undisturbed; it’s a wholly complete object, it is DONE.

But now it needs to be framed.

This object that I have labored over, that I have felt the joy of completion and finality of, I now need to take on to another level of production…to have another, totally separate object attached to it, in an ornamental way, a.k.a, Framing.

How can Framing be such a challenge? I’ve just created a new painting, and I am completely familiar with it, from the subject matter to the sketches, the draft line drawing to scale, the final line drawing, then the layers and layers of paint, and all the wonderful subtleties that happen there (the process, the ritual, wink). I can do all of that, yet I cannot figure out what the frame should look like. This is where Kimi comes in!

Photo credit: Community Impact article and photo by Carlie Porterfield

Kimi’s got a talent for framing that is out of this world, and when she adds her frames to my paintings, I feel they become the best possible version of themselves. So naturally, I think of Kimi as an artist, and the frame is her art.

If I was painstakingly ordering a finely crafted custom frame to my particular specifications, I would perhaps have a different opinion. But I consult Kimi for the frame, and she makes suggestions (she makes all of the suggestions) and politely allows me to select as I will. But she has a pretty strong opinion and will guide me to that opinion. This is of course very welcome to me and is what I prefer; I noticed early on that she has a true penchant for weighing color and texture options and a patience for trying different looks until it is right. I was impressed by our first few collaborations as I will call them, and from there have increasingly preferred to let her do what she does best, and show me her suggestions.

So, is the frame also the artwork? Does everyone else think about this, or is it just me?

On a different note – I’ve recently admired some compelling prints, paintings, and digital art that were framed poorly and this is not a crime of craftmanship that I am calling out here, but a selection of materials, color, and texture for the framing (and matting) that ultimately was not improving or setting off its assigned artwork either in harmony, or with contrast for specific effect. It was just bad framing that ended up distracting from the artwork itself. In these cases, the frame has such a deleterious visual effect that it seems to de-value the artwork. Of course, we all know a frame can be replaced, but if the artwork is overlooked for a lack of the viewer being able to discern that it may be improved with a change of frame, then in that case, the frame is most certainly part of the art, although in an unfortunate way.

For my own work, I’ve tried my hand at making framing selections, and hope that I have not done any of my paintings a disservice with this; I’ve also used other framers and have been pleased with their results. But I was recently cataloguing my work, and regarded that as far as the frames, Kimi’s are my favorites, and I see those pieces as (you guessed it) The Frame is also the Artwork.

On Inspiration

To be a creative person is to see creative opportunities everywhere, and despite this abundance, there can be times of rough, parched patches when inspiration is elusive. Almost like a dream that is fleeting upon waking, tendrils of inspiration can be gossamer and leave quietly before their impressions can be noted with care.

It seems that every artist has a go-to supply of activity or reflection that is a comfort for the moments of difficulty that make up the indefinite period of uncertainty that is the affliction of loss or lack of inspiration, yet it is still a typical part of the repertoire to seek out how others handle this when it comes to their door. To share a remedy for disappeared inspiration is also an exercise in warding off the silence of one’s own mind, and to cultivate an inspiration-seeking process for future use.

For my own, I find inspiration and joy in the natural world, in reading, and in seeking out the works of others. My own processes are very interior, but the spark or inspiration is often something quite external. Recently, I’ve chosen Circe, by Madeline Miller, to transport me to another time and place for inspiration and I am quite looking forward to what will come of it!