"Dad...you suck"

"Hatfield"--"I can't follow your line of teaching because your are an instinctual painter, whilst I need structure in order to paint--goodby, I don't need this crap anymore!"--or something like that.  I get this from artists who have had heavy illustration backgrounds and who come to me to "loosen up" or because they love my use of color.  They come, they see, they adore, they leave.  When they see how muddy I work in the early stages of the painting--they are confused.  When they see how sloppy my drawing is--they are befuddled.  When I preach the big mass approach--they are lost.  When I suggest that they hold off on the details--the final notes, accents, and color--until the very end of the process--they ignore me.   I am hearing echos from the past--from my years of parenting--"Dad, you suck."

I used to fanticize that I could take anybody with an IQ of 36-- who had at least one hand, one eye, and one ear--and make them a great oil painter.  I am told that I suffer from megalomania.  Maybe I am just too reductionistic or naive--or maybe I just have BO.   I seem to suffer from some stinking, incurable malady when it comes to things artistic.  One thing is certain--I have always believed that if I can get it, then anybody can get it--it is never a matter of talent--only a matter of love intersecting opportunity.  I am hearing what Anthony Hopkins said to Alec Baldwin--"...what one man can do--another can do."  Guess what--I believe this statement to be absolutely right!  O yes, this art thing is open to every man. Lets hear it gang!--WHAT ONE MAN CAN DO--ANOTHER CAN DO! This is true in oil painting more than we will ever admit.

I am not saying that anybody can be another John Singer Sargent or another Tiger Woods--what I am saying is that it is possible for every man to reach the height of potential that is granted him--if one does reach for that potential with great love for the process, for the journey--then he is a man (woman) to be admired for sure. As a teacher it is my job to provide the opportunity--it is the student's job to provide the love.  What distinguishes Tiger Woods ?--he loved it (golf) more than the rest.  Why did Sargent rise to such heights amongst his peers?--he loved it more that the rest.  I can prove this to anyone who wants to argue, but I don't have the energy to debate the obvious--so I will just beg the question and go on.