Lay out several nuts (acorns or hickory or walnuts, etc.) in your writing space. Then speak out-loud ( Read more... )

One of the most beloved paintings by Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890) is “The Starry Night” (1889, Oil on canvas). Van Gogh painted this picture from his memory, and from his bedroom window at an asylum in France. Because the trees and the town were derived from van Gogh’s imagination, “The Starry Night” becomes a combination of fantasy and ( Read more... )

These two artists changed my thinking about the purpose of art. The artist statement by Jose Clemente Orozco (Mexican 1883-1949) concerning his mural “The Epic of American Civilization” (1932-1934) further cemented my new perceptions. He said (his capitals) “IN every painting, as in any other work of art, there is always an IDEA, never a STORY. ( Read more... )

In pondering “art for art’s sake”, I need to narrate my first encounter with Abstract Art. At the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, I decided to view paintings by Willem de Kooning (Dutch-American, 1904-1997), a prominent Abstract Expressionist. These paintings featured black brush strokes on a white canvas. My first reaction was that " ( Read more... )