Happy March Artists and Friends!
As I begin writing at 6 AM this morning, I’m aware of the glow from outside reminding me that the days are getting longer. More time it seems, to get the myriad things done that need my attention and more temptation to grab my painting “go-bag” and run off to chase the light somewhere. Spring is close…
I always have music playing in the studio. The last few weeks I’ve spent a good deal of time on the road so I’ve taken to listening to Podcasts while I’m driving. I listen both to Eric Rhoads and Savvy Painter with Antrese Wood. “Digging Deep” is a Robert Plant Podcast that I love also, creativity at its finest as well…I digress…. I really enjoy listening to the endless range of artists speaking about their experiences, their path to where they are now, their hard and fast rules, or not, and their opinions and observations based on their years of being professional artists.
If you are like me, you seldom really realize just how much experience you have. I remember listening to professional artists talk about these subjects 20 years ago thinking, man, they must all have art degrees, I’ll never live long enough to learn all this stuff! Ozmosis is the gradual assimilation of knowledge and ideas, so when it comes to mapping our progress, we can’t put a measuring tape on what we have learned, nor are we able to identify where we learned all the infinite bits and pieces that it takes to do what we do. Painting is like learning to speak. No one source taught you every word in your vocabulary. Your parents got you started, school taught you more, social interaction inserted new words into the system (some not favored by your first teacher). But you were reading on your own, writing things, finding your voice within the parameters of sentence structure. Ozmosis.
All this “listening” I’ve been doing has given me time to reflect on where my artistic life began, somewhere in kindergarten, through to when I decided to realize my dream of making living my life as the artist I was 23 years ago, to now. I listen to the words from these seasoned artists and I understand them now. Some things I agree with, others, I know clearly don’t work for me and still others are ideas I put in my mental toolbox to experiment with. What I’m learning by listening is how much knowledge I have now versus when I had that idealized notion of what living my life as an artist would be, and how much more there is to learn.
The point to all this? Absolutely there is no better teacher than grabbing your go-bag and getting your hands dirty in the field painting. But don’t discount how invaluable camaraderie with your artist friends is, how much you learn from listening to others, watching demonstrations and reading about your heroes. The things you disagree with are great for forcing you to understand within yourself why your way is better. You learn that the path we take is as unique and the marks we make, yet commonality abounds.
50 artists juried in from all over the US will be descending on Santa Fe Friday as John Meister launches the kickoff to the 2020 Santa Fe Plein Air Fiesta. Although I didn’t enter this year, I made arrangements to be at the event for the entirety. I want to be in the company of my peers and absorb that creative energy that they will be bringing. Join me in painting the area this week for fun. Respectfully observe these wonderful artists as they capture the spirit of our home state. Learn stuff. Create stuff. Take advantage of the opportunity to fill your mental toolbox! Opening and awards at Sorrel Sky Gallery March 13th.
Happy Painting!!
Natasha Isenhour; President, PAPNM
