ARTISTS' QUOTES

Never paint if you wish to live tranquilly.
                                   Corot, to a friend

SAND CASTLE

It is 4 AM.  The night is still on. Outside it is dark.  And sleep is ignoring me.  A good time to think about sand castles on the beach.

HOBBY

Yesterday our tax accountant stated that I had to be in business to make money and if I showed a loss again this year my status as an artist would be considered a hobby by the IRS.  So I checked The American Hertitage Dictionary of the English Language for the definition:

"1. An occuptation, activity or interest as stamp collecting or gardening engaged in primarily for pleasure, a pastime."

This gets even better in Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition  (ok I need to upgrade)
"A pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation."

Just delicious!  The IRS should come up with  a more descriptive positive noun for this passion.   No wonder artists get no respect when even our goverment determines a negative value to our occupation.  And unless we make money and profit we are only doing this as a pastime.  One cannot be more present in one's work when they are creating.  I do not think I have worked harder at this to not only create a body of work, but by also working in sales, marketing, inventory control, shipping, quality control, publication and research.  A pastime?  Again Merriam Webster: "something that amuses and serves to make time pass agreeably: Diversion."   Amusing indeed!

TUESDAY NIGHT BOOK CLUB

Since Monday was a holiday we did not have class on Tuesday night.  (This does not make sense to me either.)  So last night I was browsing at the MFA bookstore while waiting for the Robert Irwin lecture to start.  I saw the exquisite new Kandinsky book based on the current exhibit at the Guggenheim priced at only $55.00.  And after drooling a bit over that publication I then leafed through the precious and weighty book of Georgia O'Keefe's Abstractions now exhibiting at the Whitney Museum.  This gem is a mere $65.00.  Worth it if one does not spend the money to go to New York and see these shows.  But really is it worth it to buy the books instead of seeing the actual original paintings on the walls of the Whitney or the Guggenheim Museum?  I keep doing the math in my head (and that may be the problem) and I have to say Manhattan calls.  Besides one could always buy a trinket or two to remember the trip.  What does a postcard go for at these fine establishments?  

WISDOM

Upon visiting the Farnsworth Museum this past summer I came across this:

It is no accident that we all lie nestled


Together in the curves of the universe.

We are tugged by forces of celestial tides.

Time folds on itself and outward again

In gladness as we spin around,

Each of us an utter miracle

In the sea of tiny white stars.



Jamien C. Morehouse 1999

SELLING

The gallery called me yesterday with some fun news. Two of my paintings sold over the weekend. Both are watercolors too. This is Wandering (20 x 16) painted this summer and part of a series I have been working on dealing with memory.  The other painting sold is Stillness (14 x 11) that I wrote about in this blog on September 8th.  I am so happy both have found a new home outside the gallery and studio.  While I have had several discusions with other artists about the dilemma of painting to sell or painting for oneself—a sale of one's work does magic for the creative spirit.

SALT MARSH

Today is a gorgeous day to be painting outside.

RAIN

With the rain falling it feels like a quiet day.

MAINE

The autumn colors in Maine this weekend are so delicious that one wants to eat them.