Space for the Spirit to breathe. Rainer Maria Rilke This past winter my sessions in the studio could best be described as a blitzkrieg affair, with me dashing in whenever possible, averaging only 3-4 hours per visit. Not ideal, I know, but I believe that you do as much as you can, when you can, and that by piano, piano, piano, […]
Stop, Drop, and Clean???? Read More »
“I live and love in God’s peculiar light.” Michelangelo When my son, the Heir Apparent, was a youngster he asked me who I liked best: Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo or Leonardo? What a clever boy! (Indeed, I wondered how to casually let slip to the other moms what a genius my son was.) Yet a small niggling thought made me
Well, Aren’t You Just Like Michelangelo! Read More »
“An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one.” Charles Horton Cooley My name is Martine and I am an artist. “Hello, Martine” Yep, that’s me alright; I admit it freely. And I ain’t sorry. However, there are times when I do wonder, as any reasonable person might, why. Why be an artist
To Be or Not to Be (an Artist), That is the Question Read More »
“Would you like a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure.” Thomas J. Watson The curtain rises on the studio space, skylights above, drop cloths below. The maestro begins the lesson with a gentle but stern lecture on the years it will take to master the tools and techniques of the craft. You, overcome with
If At First You Don’t Succeed, Fail, Fail, and Fail Again Read More »
“True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross…” Nikos Kazantzakis As a Mid-Century Modern, I remember the time before Al Gore created the internet and what it meant to be stuck in a bind because a missing piece of information was needed to complete a project, research an
A Road Forward and Back Read More »
“Art is all around you” street painting: Asheville, North Carolina Easter week found me away from the studio on a trip to Asheville, North Carolina. There, my sister Josephine and I, along with our very understanding spouses, spent time researching family history, going to cemeteries, and visiting the local county historical society. Genealogy is one of my sister’s long held passions and one of
On Holiday: A Visit to Asheville Read More »
“So, you see why I like the history of art. It’s the study of how to observe life with complete attention. It’s the history of love.” Aidan Chambers The man looks forward, gaze directed toward the viewer, his torso balanced between profile and three-quarters. He appears, at this point, just past middle-age. There is no indication of location, of place, of what he
A Witness to a Painting Read More »
“A woman must have money and a room of her own. . .” Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own First published in October 1929, Virginia Woolf’s extended essay, A Room of One’s Own, has served as a feminist rallying cry and a raised banner for what artists need in order to accomplish their calling. For Virginia understood that
A Table of One’s Own Read More »
“Art results when there is nothing that can be added, but when there is nothing that can be taken away.” James O. Collins “Professor MacDonald, how long will this painting take me to do?” Now and then one of my students will ask the “how long” question. I know they are hoping that the answer is
The Sometimes Long and Winding Road Read More »
“Beep, beep.” The Roadrunner When I was pulling together the Mixed Media Gallery, I was surprised by the number of times, and the diverse ways, that I have used a particular subject matter. Among the many instances is this mono print, and a three-in-one colored pencil drawing: Plus, there is this gallery installation, and then this guy shows
