The Real Artist

lasting art sculptures in the modern era, art that lasts

2011-01-28T03:36:00.000-08:00

The web as you know has a wealth if information on virtually any topic. While researching out a new technique that I wish I new more about, I read an article on the topic of "what is considered the longevity needs of modern art/art produced today", well not exactly but .....

So here I am looking for a medium to cast my sculptures in that will last at least my lifetime and hopefully longer and I come across this thread in an unmentioned forum regarding casting in hydro- cal and how to make it last longer than just a few years. One of the respondents referred a study or a product that said in its description that society generally looses interest in something within 5yrs and that auto manufacturers produce vehicles that are only designed to last 3yrs. By at which point most things will have been broken and thrown away or the owner will have tyred of what ever it was and just pitched it out.

   Now I don't know about you, but when I buy something, it better last and I expect to have to pay for it. It just stumps me though that when I want to create a new work of art. I want to use the best quality materials to produce my finished piece. In this case its sculpture cast in,.... cast in,....... well I don't know yet. That's the problem. I cast in allot of different mediums hot and cold! But due to the wants of me needing a new material that can be finished anyway I like and can be indoor outdoor safe per say. Cement is to heavy and hydro cal is lighter but not strong enough to handle the weather. Now I could cast in metal but most people can't afford that sort of thing. So back to the cold cast materials.

   I have had some pretty good luck casting cement and hydro-cal materials alone and with additives (my own mixes, he he he) that include but are not limited to Carpenters glue, weld-bond, pearlite, vermiculite, fiberglass, latex, acrylic, enamel, as well as others. with varying degrees of success.

As this seems to be a toss away part of our history I'm taking a stand. I want quality in what I buy and I'm going to create art of the highest quality. My advice to you is to do the same. So with that in mind I can tell you for sure, if your casting with hydro cal throw at least 1/2cup of carpenters glue into every 1/2 bag. Don't use pear lite or vermiculite they both float to much. I have yet to find a suitable sealer or clear to make it weather proof. So if its meant for out doors, cast with cement same mix as for hydro-cal. Don't use pre- mixed cement. Its usually too course for my liking. I like a 50/50 cement sand ratio. Be sure to seal it. but not before it has cured for at last 48hrs after demolding (including next day sealant). The mediums need time to De-gas/dry before you add the new material (clear or sealant) as the cast needs to be able to readily absorb it.

Remember if you spend the time to make it, take the time reproduce a quality piece. Not everything has to have a "Bic lighter" life span

Lipstick

2011-01-27T04:02:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks back a buddy drops by and just happens to mention that he needs to go down to the coast to pick up his 5yr old daughter. There had been allot of snow in the preceding week so I asked which of his 2 vehicles he planned on taking to which he responded " Oh the 4runner" and I was forced to ask him about the safety aspect of said trip.He has new winter tires but the frame on this 4x4 of his is almost none existent not to mention more hole in than wheel wells. He says ya I know but what choice do I have. I have to go and get my daughter from my ex. "Ah the frame will be fine" he further states. But what really worries me is that the rusted out wheel wells are going to attract attention and that will get me pulled over for a spot safety check and then I'll get a bunch of tickets that I can't pay, and the list just goes on. Not to mention what my daughters mother will say! So I have a half can of bondo so I'm gonna just fill the holes and I thought I'd drop in and see if you wouldn't tell me how to go about doing it. I said "your really going to do this and he says "Ya!" and I said where ? He says "Oh at my place outside" To which (being his friend and just having cleared the shop up) I said "No we'll do it here!"

So the next day he turns up about noon and we spend the next 36 hrs (none stop, no sleep) and use a whole bunch of my fiber glass and other art stuff to fix (actually recreate) his wheel wells. I won't bore you with all of that fun but I will pass this along. The work we did would have fooled the most diligent of random glances.

We remove all the masking and tape, open the door and roll the gleaming beast into the mountain crisp, winter air. My buddy smiles and says "I think we're done here and I need sleep! He heads for home to catch a nap before he has to leave.

Now the reason he has this 4x4 is that he lives up a mountain at the top of, (being gracious) a goat trail type driveway. In which in the winter, there is no snow at the bottom. But at the house there could easily be 3ft. On this day luck was not on his side. He gets the bottom of his driveway rolls about a 100 yards up and suddenly there is this horrific sound of grinding and bending metal and his truck comes to a halt and then starts to roll backwards. He jambs his foot on the brake and jumps out to see what he has run over in the snow. He bends down on one knee and looking under the 4runner see's the drive shaft all bent up and the rear wheels out of whack. And on top of all that he now has to climb his 1/2 mile driveway. Fun times eh!

The moral to this story is don't waste time on junk, substrate, materials ect... Because no matter how much time or how good a job you do.....Lipstick on a pig does not make it "less a pig"

Directorslive.com a great place for Indie films & animation or a black hole.

2010-11-19T01:41:00.000-08:00

When I work I often need interesting fodder for the mind and once in awhile I find it. Like today for example, I was looking for something to watch/listen to while I worked and I found " directorslive.com , what a score! The two pieces that I watched were "Darkwood "2008. A great little film about a guy loosing his house & the hypocrisy of the system ( www.directorslive.com/channels/films/darkwood-2008-a-short-film/ ) and "Madame Tutli Putli " 2007 ( http://www.directorslive.com/channels/films/madame-tutli-putli/ ) an amazing little NFB stop animation about a woman with baggage and a moth (to say anymore would wreck the story in which no words are spoken).

Now what I chose to watch was up to me, but I dare say you could probably find almost anything at directorslive.com . Both films are under 25min and streamed lagg free and crystal clear on my set up. I don't know if I was just lucky or what but both of these films were very well done and I expect that most will find them as entertaining as I did. So if you are an "up and comer" in either of these film styles this level would be a good place to reach for as far as low budget films are concerned. But whatever you do, make it your own!

Have a look and let me know if you think its a gold mine of inspiration & great indie flix or a black hole, share your favorites.

Snow carving warm-up 2010/2011 let it snow!

2010-11-18T23:57:00.000-08:00

Snow is falling all clean and fresh and the almanac says we are in for the coldest winter in 50yrs. Lets carve snow, Calgary got a foot today from what I here. What do you do with it all. Well if you have a bit of time you can do all sorts of things with it but I suppose shoveling (stretch first , you've got lots of work ahead of you) would be the natural place to start, though I leave it up to you but don't forget the anti-freeze. Me, I'm going to re-read the past posts that Mr.Arnell was kind enough to share with us last winter. Making a big pile and hoping it melts just isn't my way. I want to do it right so its ready for some serious snow carving. I think maybe I'll order a set of those snow carving tools Tim was talking about and try my hand at it. And if we're lucky he'll show us some more photo's and snow carving techniques

So bundle up, stay safe, and if your in the back country this winter breaking all the high marks or the rules ( not that you'd do that) be sure to take your avalanche and GPS locator stuff. Because we want you back long before its time to mow the lawn in the spring and I need to know, is it snow carving or snow sculpting?

How to pack and sculpt snow (part2 sculpting)

2010-03-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Here you should be primed & ready for the fun part, carving and sculpting. As I said before I was expecting a bit more snow so I started creating a new pile because it seemed pointless in moving all the snow into one pile which was a long way so I made a second pile about 30 feet away at the end of the driveway. But again the additional snow never came and apparently there is no winter fest in Greenwood B.C. this year. So with the snow melting pretty fast I decided I’d better carve at least one of my piles I’d just have to change my design to fit with a much smaller pile. One thing I should say is that if piled snow sits (packing/packed, has no bearing) the icier it will be and thus harder to shape at it becomes as its more brittle, or at least that was my experience. The pile also sat for a long time too though.

About three weeks later the more snow never came, then one fine day I just started,

I figured otherwise all my work would have just melted away. In second image I have roughed in the general shape of my design and pushed some markers in as reference points for scale. As I said before the longer it sits before you carve it the harder and more ice it has. Here, it was warm during the day ( +3 to 5C ) and then coldish at night (-5 to -10 ) so there were ice and air pockets created by the buried grass and leaf debris heating up melting the snow during the day and freezing at night. In colder climates you don’t have the same problems with the ice but I had the right sculpting tools so it wasn’t to much of a problem. From here you just carve and sculpt your piece ( if you need to do repairs keep a couple 5gallon pails full of snow warming up so when you need it you can just grab a handful and use it kind of like glue/mortar but only when its below zero). I’m going to assume you already know a bit about creating art so I’m not going to go on about it other than to say that I just used pieces of kindling for markers.

Airbrushing murals leaves me a good selection of ladder type apparatus to choose from so I went with a two step bench, a ten foot step and a three bend scaffold ladder. Working in snow I found was a little like sand sculpture in that you can do allot as long as you keep physical weight and balance in mind all the time. It sticks to itself well but its not like clay.

In this 3rd photo I have spent a little more time working in the character of the face, using the markers again for scale. The scaffold you can see in the left corner I stood on to look at my work so I didn’t have to move a ladder every time I wanted to check my work. I had started out just using a pruning saw and shovel but as I have sculpted allot of plastelene I am used to certain tools, the characteristics, shapes and what you can do with them so I gave up on the shovels and kitchen utensils (their just to small). In a pinch they would work alright but if I were going to do this a few times every winter I felt it was worth the trouble and money to get some tools for doing this. So after a good look here on the net, I found nothing. Looking around the shop I found some steel and just made some of my own. A little cutting, a weld here a bend there, a bit of grinding and an hour or so of polishing the long day was over and I had come up with some handy tools. If you are interested in a set of large scale sculpting tools send me an email ( t@art-werks.net ), having the right tools made the whole process allot easier and faster.

This fourth photo shows a still rough sculpture (the head still needs some shaping) and how little snow there was.

These two photo’s above show the finishing touches being applied or rather removed. As I said before, I didn’t have all the snow I had wanted so this sculpture only sort of looks like where I was going with it. Notice the snow pile on the right, its the one I did in part 1.

In the end this was as far as I could go without more snow as I had wanted big wild blowing hair. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

These photo's and article are the intellectual and copyrighted property of Timothy Arnell all rights are reserved and may not be used in whole or in part without permission. copyright 2010 Timothy Arnell.

How to pack and sculpt snow (part 1 piling & packing)

2010-03-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

In this post and the next I will hand it over to my good bud the incredibly talented Timothy Arnell of www.art-werks.net fame and let him tell it as he can do anything

Thanks AW, and for the opportunity to share.

From what I hear we don’t/didn't have as much snow as usual this year but I’m just new to this area, so what do I know. Well I knew enough to stock up on snow. Sounds funny doesn’t it.

So it started to snow, I started to shovel. Soon, I realised that I needed somewhere to pile it all, where it wouldn’t get in the way or turn the yard into a lake when it melted, so this is what happened and this is how I did it.

You need to know where it (the snow pile) is going to sit, I had no idea what I was going to create when I started but, somewhere along the way I came up with my idea, problem was I didn’t have enough snow but I was assured it would snow again in a few days so I started piling. This is what I did, learned, and used.

First you need lots of snow, a few styles of shovels and something to tamp with which is important (I took a garden spade, cut the blade off and welded it back on at a 45 degree angle to the handle so it was more like a pick). You will also find a small folding (camping) shovel handy as well as a curved pruning saw. I also had a set of large sculpting tools similar to the ones used for clay sculpting, 4 cinder blocks, and 4 half inch thick sheets of plywood, one cut in half.

Pile your snow about 3ft deep packing /tamping it down as you go. Then, cut a lead and side edge right through the middle of your pile and clear away debris, lean 1 board up against each the side, edges meeting at one end creating a 45 degree angled corner. You may want to lean one or two of the cinder blocks against each board to hold them up as I did in the above photo. Keep piling and packing the snow until it starts to fill in the corner and then the sides. Add and move boards as needed, being sure to pack/tamp about every half dozen shovel fulls, the more the better (to force the air out). When the pile gets high enough you’ll have to move your boards around.

In the above photo I also used steel 2x4's for support (wooden ones would have been better), to keep pressure on the sides while I piled & packed. It depends on how large your building the pile though, I went with an 8x8x8-10ft block but in the end I made two piles (this being the larger of the two). When your on top packing it down be careful not to slide off or collapse the edge, the best place to stand is in the center on top. It took two days to pile all this up. It could of been done faster if I'd had more boards but I wanted the snow to set over night with the boards still up against it. So having only 4 boards to work with it was done half, at a time.

If I’d had 8 sheets of plywood I would have made a big box and let it sit for a week with the boards ratchet strapped on. When I started this project the plan was to pile the snow in a block shape and then put a lip on the front edge but as you can see in the lower picture I set the board up to do that but had to wait for more snow. The “more snow” never came instead it buried the eastern Provinces and States. Part of my plan was to let the snow sit until mid February when there is a winter fest. Being an artist and new to a town full of artists I wanted to be prepared. Well as it turned out I was the only one in town that still had snow when February came along.

It did snow a bit more but like I said before I needed more snow to complete my design. The lip I was putting on one side was for a hand. If you choose to do the same thing, when you set up the board move it away from the base about 1-2 feet as mine fell. Or you could just make the pile that much bigger (which is what I will do next time) and carve it out, I was just being lazy. So there you have it one pile of well packed snow.

In part 2, I will talk about sculpting/carving, tools and where to get them etc....

Speeding the Net Slowly, Choked by the Oppresive Panicked Network Monsters

2009-04-08T00:47:00.000-07:00

Seems to me that we in the west have this pie in the sky idea that we can control the future, change when we want, dictate who what and how it's done. enmass. Who makes the discision is not up to us, contrary to what we want and how we behave. At our house we had satelite tv set up but when cash started to get tight we axed it and at first we weren't happy. I'm sure we aren't the only ones that felt that way. We have cable internet and have web based businesses. One day I went lookin for a radio station sort of thing to listen to while I worked with no luck. Instead I found a channel with its plithora of content, a way more enjoyable and convenient to only watch what we want, when we want, sans the commercials. (let me change that, I was just tuning into my fav net radio station and I was forced to listen/WATCH a commercial...What the the helllllll it wasn't like that 4 hours ago, they found us..... Run everybody we are being tracked).
Soon, if not already, we can use cell technology and skip the cable/phone line tether all together. But thats a whole different ball of wax. M T Frie's observations/comments, relay the message that "the monsters (big conventioal networks) are affraid that they may have to give things away" like rich content with no filler like the rest of us for a share. I don't know him (Mr.Frie) personally so I don't know for sure were he's coming from exactly and who's side he's on. From what I've read though, his thoughts are spot on in regards to cable companies fears of us migrating from cable and satalite t.v. These monster media companies are going to have to do something rash and right now or they will be in the same boat as the auto industry and in the last 4 hours it looks like they have. I don't need a monster media conglomerate over charging me, T.V. was free when I was a kid as were commercials. Now if it was me I'd start setting it up now as though the market was gone, drop my prices grab a larger share of the market and reinvest in new technologies and make it happen, and just deal with it. Rather than the "wait and see" or "drag it out" approach, because if they don't then they'll have no control at all as and then watch them loose money. I wish more people had integrity in what and how they do things.Some do. Bruce "the BOSS" did he sued and won against the tix agent. So did Charlie Pride, he opposed gouging and took a stand. He flew to Leduc Alberta Canada to refund the difference in the price a fan had to pay for tix to his show. The tix were $60.00 each but she (the fan) had to pay $1200.00 to the reseller, it wasn't even a scalper out side the show. Talk about "Rude". So the monster changes his clothes opens an other window and sells with his left hand what he bought from his right. Stupid Rabbit tricks are for magic shows and kids. At this rate I soon won't be able to afford to view my own paintings and sculpture. Did you know that in Japan you can stream info at 50mbps for I think about 40bucks a month through the same gage cable (and/or phone line I think) your router or modem is useing to view this blog. I have nothing against anybody making money, and I kinda like ads, in fact I"ve designed lots of them,(being an artist designer and all) but I have not, and short of a dreadful accident will not, ever need to decide what tampons to use, lipstck to buy, or what yeast infection suppository I might need.
But I might be interested in a..........but they lost me and P**SED me off at the same time...... if only I had a choice in which commercials to view and didn't feel like I was being dragged down or choked off.

Art Hoochies, Posers,& Groupies

2009-02-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

Art Hoochies, Posers, and Groupies, sculpture and airbrushing. I’d figured, missing out on high school I would only loose out on some parties and maybe being a kid raising a kid no big deal. I would never have guessed I would need a degree in psychology to figure out who was real and who was a poser. But over the years I think I have it figured out.
A few weeks ago I was referred to as a real artist as I am an artist yes? and just happen to have long hair, what the length of my hair has to do with being an artist I’ll never know. I grew up in a time and environment in which many people and kids had long hair. Some were college educated and some were not, but everyone had an opinion about it. Don’t You? Visual art and music are kind of the same, like hair is the deciding factor for some about both. Well from my position art women are the same. The first art show I did I met a lot of people, there was about a 50-50 mixture of men and women. There were 4 or 5 of us showing our work. I was the only one with long hair and how this related to women didn’t occur to me yet. They sure liked my art but they loved me, and I at the time, I was in love my son’s mother. Needless to say, she was unimpressed with the whole thing and becoming hostile
At this art show there were two of us that painted with an airbrush and the others worked with brushes. I didn’t think much of it at the time, I was just happy to be there, my Ex was not. I didn’t sell anything but I didn’t really expect to anyway. I was young and new at this art show thing and still finding where I fit.
Over the next few years I learned a few things about the people that go to art shows. You wouldn’t think so, but can you ever start or get into a lot of trouble at an art show. Some go to buy art, some go to look, talk and schmooze artists, and some go for? SEX!
And no one wares a badge!
By the morning after my first show opening, the owners of the art gallery were split. She, was a Hoochie that painted. He, was screwed up by the art groupies that she played hostess too. She’d sold all her work. Come to think of it, something like that happened at almost every show opener I’ve ever heard of or been to.
In the fine art biz, schmooze is the rule. It’s often about who you know, rather than the art you do. But it helps to be good. Another thing is if you are in a relationship it better be strong or your/its done. You want to sell, but every show is as different as are the “patrons”. I used to live in a city with an art event known as “the works”. It overlapped their” jazz city” festival and when the outdoor venue was going. All the artist and jazz people would be swirling around in the steam of this summer’s themed “epicureans dream”.
It was the same every year. Hoochies, food and groupies and posers, artists , musicians and a token patron or two alike would party and dance in the cities street light. Interestingly, I noticed most of the art sold other than what the street vendors sold was abstract. I’m not ranting I’m a surrealist. A great family party in the downtown core. E-town where you can buy and sell art, get drunk to and a whole lot more. Always thought the ones with the most talent did well? That will remain to be seen.
Like a “Zen Warrior” with an airbrush or something, off on a slippery slope or a tight rope.I had it figured out, but the things they would say to try and get their way.
The best way to sell art is to be a team, its safer and easier. You better be strong or it could be very difficult no matter how good you are. Some people sense that there is something different, something art like about us and they want a piece.
When I was younger I was easier to approach vs today, but they still try. Sometimes I wonder if they don’t try harder now that I’m older. Often its part of how the game is played. And if you play with integrity and the right people you sell art.
Everyone wants to know you arbitrarily, some meet you, then think it was an invitation into your life. On one occasion I met some people at an art show, and a couple years later I met one of these people again, who introduced himself as me. But that’s not weird is it, so if when you meet us and we’re kind of stand off-ish don’t think me arrogant or rude. We just meet lots of people.
I did one art show in a gallery located on the concourse level of an office tower in the city core. My girlfriend and I brought our single friend with us. She didn’t know much about art and had never been to an art show opening.
Climbing from the cab in front, we strode across the cement and through the doors. We were met by a big angry man in a suit with radio in hand. Being me, I was casually late and half the guests had already arrived. I arrived under dressed in my usual garb at this mans feet with a girl in each arm, somehow this offended him. I was about to say something when all of a sudden he just started yelling at me.
As he was finishing up his dissertation on why we should leave on account of this art show and that he was hired to keep people me and my friends out. I said “I believe I’m paying your salary this evening, and if your upset maybe you might take a short break, until you’ve had time to calm down”. He seemed to get even more upset at this. Maybe I didn’t have my hair cut the same as his I don’t know. I told him my name which he barked into the radio and shortly a garbled noise came back and he just turned and walked away.
As we reached the top of the escalator the gallery owner appeared. He apologized profusely for the security mans behaviour. Checked our coats got us drinks and took us on the rounds. Between the three of us we managed to tie most everyone up at one point or another.
There were 4 other artists showing that night and it was the first time I felt like I was with my art equals. I had a secret weapon though. The other artists all went to the show as sales people, I went as me,” artist and company”. Everyone we spoke to got a good perspective as to who this Artist was and what he is about. I sold all but one. Having the total support and understanding of your partner is paramount, but it never happens. Remember this no one helps someone be famous, so sooner or later you’ll have to do it alone.
A few days after this however, I found a disturbing message from the gallery owner on my answering machine. “Do you know where so and so and so and so's wive’s are? The last time anyone heard from them was at the show, it’s like they just vanished”. I think wives should have been replaced with hoochie as a couple days later, I got another message. They had been found, and would be back from L.A. just as soon as they had scrapped up airfare. Needless to say, they weren’t married when they got back.
The girlfriend I went with, got the messages first and absolutely freaked out. Somehow she seemed to think I knew something about them, and was in on it. So be warned! Hoochies come in all shapes and sizes. Anyone can be made into one as well. Just add attention, lubrication and something/one new liberally and stir. Everyone has their place and time, all you need is hoochie repellent (knowledge and insulation). Something else you may not know . You can love your partner with unfaltering loyalty and integrity, but without their trust and understanding. Your broke and or single. The reason why! hoochies, posers, and groupies. If this is not the case for you, then your not the first and probably have lots of new ideas to paint, draw, or sculpt. I know I do…..
Copyright Arthur Wayne 2009-02-21 All rights reserved

The way I are

2009-02-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

In the beginning, ‘real artists’ didn't just happen. It started a long time ago with just an idea in their heads and no idea where their art was going to take them or how they would get there. There was a time when I never thought of myself as an artist, and even today when people give me compliments on my work I have trouble accepting it, without making a deflating statement of some sort or another. It’s just the way we are. There are some artists with really big heads and some talented artists with no head at all, and then there’s me.

I have always tried to do the best depiction, sculpture, design that I could muster. In the end, my art always came out more or less the way I saw it, based on my skill level or mood at the time of course. People would ask about finished paintings: "Did you know it was going to look like that when you started?" Never having been the kind of artist that goes back and "dabbles" a little bit more, my motto is, “When it’s done it’s done - that’s it, the end.”

My weapon of choice when I started art was a crap blue ball point pen and whatever paper was handy. If I had time to kill, more often than not you'd see me drawing. Sometimes all I had to work on was the flap in the top of a 25 pack of smokes, and if I was really hard up (had no smokes) I'd draw on the inside of the empty pack. Over time, my choice in pens changed to very fine felt tip pens. I like the way pen & Ink (black and white) looks.

Then one day I broke my wrist. A week or so later, I just happened to be out on my balcony and saw a neighbour out on his deck painting with an airbrush. Intrigued, I made my first airbrush out of pen parts and a hypodermic needle and used an aquarium air bubbler for air. It didn't work very well, but I was hooked. When my first compensation cheque came a few weeks later, I bought a real one along with a noisy compressor. I’ve been airbrushing ever since and upgrading my equipment along the way.

In the early days of art, a ride on a bus could be a great source of inspiration. Life in general, no place in particular was just fine. Incidentally, I don't draw people, I mean I do portraits and special-request nudes etc., but my art is about representing an insight, epiphany, event or thing that I witness. Kind of like a diary of sorts, but it’s in a pictographic sort of code in that all things are related, no matter how abstract those connections seem.

Probably from the first time I showed my work I've had people tell me how good I was. When I look back at some of the strange conversations I've had with people about my art, I really wonder. I still have some of those paintings and drawings and I still don't see it. Good thing I guess, or I never would have kept at it. It’s kinda dumb though, when I was in public school I was never really allowed to do creative things. If memory serves, I think I was always in trouble for not doing the things I sucked at first, so there was never any time left for art, I guess.

When I was 20-ish, I ended up in a trade school taking a badly put together graphics course which I was thrown out of on a couple of occasions in the form of suspensions etc. On one occasion, something that transpired caused the cancelation of three days classes for 100 plus students while the faculty tried to figure what to do about it - oh ya, it wasn't just because of me. But even as an adult (I didn't go to high school but that’s another story) I was getting into trouble for asking the wrong question. For example, when it was time for the school open house their various displays were pretty dry without my stuff. And I said something to the effect of "How can you show my stuff and take credit for it if I have been formally tossed out? That would be a copyright infringement according to what you taught me, wouldn't it?” Needless to say, that was the beginning and end of my (sort of) formal art education. I think all I learned through that was this: ‘Those that teach probably do so as a result of wanting to stay involved but are un-able to actually do.’ I did learn some other interesting things though that I’ll save for subsequent posts.

But now with all that said, I will tell you why I have started this blog. A long-time friend passed on this past week. Prior to this, he set some things in motion and people in contact with me and unfortunately I didn't act fast enough to find out why. Maybe through these musings I will understand and you (the reader) may learn something too from my experience. I will try hard not to rant but art is - after all, a tactile emotion. I will now continue on for the both of us.