Production or Inspiration

So its getting down to crunch time for the Toronto Artist Project (March 3-6th.) and I am still not sure about what artwork to bring to the show. Do I bring art that is safe and that everyone will probably like and enjoy or do I bring something a little more different. Something one might not see everyday.

The thing is, I paint really what I feel and what inspires me to try on a canvas and some paintings, most painting, don't follow a series or even have any connection to each other. I can paint serenity and simple landscapes and turn around a few months later and paint something more expressive and vibrant.

I guess its because my inspirations can change so quickly and I let them because my attention span is sometimes that of a small infant playing with more than one toy. I don't abandon one style for another, I just really want to immerse myself into everything and not miss out on anything that might give me new vigor, thought and direction.

I read an article the other day about a painter named Bruno Cote (1940 - 2010) who stated that he found that we sometimes focus more on a style rather than on the person behind the work. Words like landscape, traditional, modern, avant-garde, too often are a pretext to exclusion and indifference in the art world.

I think my best bet will be to bring work that I feel really good about and let people see for themselves what they might like, or not. I want people to view my work and not catagorize it but rather enjoy it for what it is, Demetrios' art.

My work is changing rapidly as I am growing as an artist and eventually I will probably only do what I feel really passionate about, as long as I don't become too comfortable and start producing the same work over and over again. That is probably the one thing that kills an artist the quickest and eventually sucks the life and passion out of making your art.

Art should not be production just inspiration.

Taking time.

Last night I attended a vernissage for The Marcelle Ferron exhibition being held at Galerie Simon Blais. I had seen some of Ferron's work on the Internet but was curious to see what else she painted. I was quite pleasantly surprised to see these beautiful small abstract works on paper done during the 70's. She was a strong minded woman with plenty to say and one of the many Quebec artists who did stained glass and mural installations in the various metro stations around Montreal. Some of the public artwork there is absolutely amazing.

Now that is something I would love to do. Maybe I can create a work of art and have it installed permanently somewhere in Montreal. I guess as an artist we live for that kind of stuff. Its not that I want to be well known or anything, its just sort of a way to show people how proud you are of being an artist and giving back to the people something pleasant to look at as they hurry off to their busy day. You might even get someone that actually stops and looks at the art. Even better!!

I think if more people spent a little more time looking at artwork, we would all be happier, saner and maybe more pleasant for it. Artwork has so much to give to us and it has a way of making us see beyond what is there. For me when I look at art, I wonder about the artist and what they were thinking and maybe going through as they created the work. Did they set out to create controversial or even different sort of work or did it just happen to be seen that way, unexpectedly perhaps? What mood were they in, maybe in a spontaneous mood, happy, miserable, maybe hungry, maybe even depressed when they created the work.

Sometimes art looks, well, not very "art like". Some art has a way of getting us angry,"Do you call that art, my baby brother can do better than that!!" Maybe we are not used to seeing something so unique and different. Maybe it was meant to get us to react. Sure it comes down to the individual and their taste buds but its kind of like when we actually take the time to smell the roses, we should also take the time to really look at art whether its installed in the underground metro, in a park or in a gallery, you might be surprised at what you'll actually see.

Emerging Artist.

I decided this year that I was going to try and participate in more exhibitions and shows, so I applied for and was accepted to a show in March 2011 in Toronto called The Artist Project. www.theartistprojecttoronto.com It is an artist exhibition/art fair and the artists are chosen by a jury selection which was important to me because it means my work is good enough to show with other emerging artists. It is the first time I will be doing a show in Toronto and I can't wait to meet new people and make new connections with other artists. It will be lots of work but I am ready to put in the time and see the results.

I am also going to be putting on my own show in June 2011 in Montreal. It will be a busy time for me the next 6 months but I am a little scared but more excited for both shows because it means my work will be out of the studio and in front of a large audience of people to see.

Its also not that I wasn't exhibiting before this, I was, but more in line of having group exhibitions, short open studio weekends, exhibitions and events mostly at my studio which were also very important because it gave me a sense of how to put on a show and exhibit my work. I guess there is also the reason being mostly that as an emerging artist I didn't feel ready. By that I mean, if you take your art seriously enough as I do, I believe that it takes awhile until the work you create can have its own voice, vision and a confidence in yourself that makes your art your own.

There are some people out there that are convinced that they are artists after taking lessons at a local art school and start exhibiting right away. They think that by simply putting down some splashes on canvas that they are indeed, artists. They are even convinced that they are the next best thing since Jackson Pollack, making art seem sometimes trivial and easy, almost effortless like picking flowers from your garden and done almost without much thought. Masters in their own mind.

I am not convinced. There is much more to being an artist than splashes on a canvas. Art was not created in a day! It even took God seven days to create the world and he was so tired that he had to rest after day six.

Creating is work work work!! Take your art seriuosly and give yourself the time, have the patients, explore ideas and grow to the point that you are ready to emerge from within your studio, ready to show your work, talk about it and feel great about creating something with meaning.

Life getting in the way

Well my friends another year has just begun. It is indeed time for new reflection and setting goals for the new year. What do you want to do this year, what are your plans. Did last year bring new challenges and accomplishments or did life get in the way....again??

Now what do you suppose that means? How does life "get in the way" of life. A friend of mine whom I haven't seen in a long time said he was glad to see I was doing something -painting- I loved and that I didn't let life get in the way.........Life ALWAYS gets in the way!

Right after Christmas day, I was planning to spend some quality time at the studio, planning what to do for this year and putting some finishing touches on some artwork I was working on.

I got a call from my mom saying my dad was taken to the hospital cause he fell out of bed a couple of times and she thought something was wrong. We spent 16 hours in the emergency and then admitted for 5 days in the hospital. They didn't find anything really wrong, only that he maybe had a virus of some sort, thank God.

I did eventually get to the studio this past week and although I didn't last week, I did feel like it was okay and that nothing really changed. Although life got in the way, I managed to get back to it quickly and didn't let myself get too down about my dad. The time away from the studio was actually good cause it made me more eager to get back to work.

There will always be something that will get in the way. Some family emergency, some unforeseen event, even our own self defeatist attitudes. We just have to keep moving forward, give yourself the time to deal with the situation, then continue on with your internal plan. There is nothing more important than staying focused and doing what you love in life. As hard as that might might be sometimes, it is as important to you as it is to those you love. I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May it bring you good health and lots of happiness.