I’m nuts about art. To me creating art is as necessary as breathing. If I’m not creating I feel worthless. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but that’s how I feel.
I’ve been into art ever since I can remember. In fact, my mom still has one of my first pictures ever drawn. It was of a motorcycle, and she says I could only speak a few words. I drew two circles and a line connecting them, I held it up and said “Motorcycle”. Ya, ya cute and all, but it’s true…I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating art.
Later in life, I graduated from a university in Industrial Design, and got a job at a major car manufacturer as an exterior designer. At the time, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Are you serious drawing cars for a living, who wouldn’t want to do that? Well, after our kids were born we realized we were too far from grandparents. Or should I say, they (the grandparents) wouldn’t stop begging us to move back. So we did.
Here I am now, not doing art for living. So I set this site/blog up to keep me “alive”! I hope you enjoy it. I apologize if it feels random, but that’s who I am…so I’m afraid you’ll need to deal with it.
Art vs. Design
When I thought about “growing up” I used to think art was a waste. I had a desire to do something “more useful” then hang my art on a wall. This is one of the reasons I was drawn to Industrial Design. ID was art mixed with function…perfect! Well, so I thought.
Consumption – con·sump·tion/kənˈsəm(p)SHən/ Noun: 1. The using up of a resource.
After an undergraduate degree and 6 years experience as a professional designer my regard to art and design completely changed.While it was more then a blast drawing cars, I soon found out there was a lot more to design. In a nutshell, design (for the most part) is the corruption of Art. I really do mean “for the most part”, sure there are companies that have honest intention, but most don’t.
Consume – con·sume/kənˈso͞om/ Verb: 1. Eat, drink, or ingest (food or drink). 2. Buy (goods or services).
Design uses the theories and concepts of Art for one purpose…wait for it…to get you the customer to buy and consume more. Art doesn’t, in and of itself is pure. Sure the artist may have an underlying message in a piece of work, but all in all the act of making art is the celebration of creation. Maybe that only makes since in my mind.
Whether it’s a gimmicky ad or trendy gadget, design uses composition, line, form, and color to entice and tempt more consumption of a product. The designers spend millions of dollars to research your inner wants, typically for one ultimate goal—get more money.
Create – cre·ate/krēˈāt/ Verb: 1. Bring (something) into existence.
Well you might think selling art is the same thing. To me, it’s simply an effect of creating objects that take up space…I’m just making room in my house for kids and a wife.
The root of my art is not to make money, it’s just to feel alive.
Mediums
Some of the mediums I’m familiar with and use often are:
- Acrylic
- Oil
- Pencil and pen
- Photography (Film and Digital)
- Digital
- Oil based clay
A lot of my posts deal with these mediums, but that’s not a promise. I love trying new stuff and exploring different ways to create.
Favorite Quotes
Art is not a treasure in the past or an importation from another land, but part of the present life of all living and creating peoples. -Franklin D. Roosevelt
It is better to create than to learn! Creating is the essence of life. -Julius Caesar
Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. -Albert Einstein
