Monday, January 24, 2011

Back In Action--But Laughable

After listening to lengthy YouTube discourses on representational vs abstract oil painting I was moved to post--so here goes.  To begin with--WHO CARES?  Not many give a hoot in hell about the issues surrounding the differences between art movements today i.e.--abs vs figs, modernest vs traditional, abstract vs representational.   The discussion is dated, boring, and has no current application.  Most of the commentators I listened to are not intellectually qualified to run their mouths about such cultural phenomena.  Robert Hughs' treatment in "American Visions" is the best out there on the subject, but, of course,  he was not referenced in the YouTube rants.  The occurrence of mediocre representational oil painters turned experts in art history is something I am familiar since I oil paint and consider myself an art history expert.  My bona fides, however, are laughable--but I will admit it once in awhile!  Anyway, in case you are interested--I am now set up in my new studio and back on the commission trail, dammit--but my over head is now $1200.00 rather than $12,000.  I need to make enough to pay my green fees and to feed a few addictions.  I now paint in a twelve square foot upstairs bedroom in a condo in beautiful downtown Yountville, Ca.  I have a north facing window with a box fan on the sill for ventilation.  My new Mac 10.6.5 blazes and ComCast provides me with the latest from the NFL--go Pittsburgh!  My Social Security deposit is direct, the hot tub is 104 degrees, and the golf course is 500 yards away--so look out.  Now these facts are verifiable, interesting, and of cultural significance.  So, as Winslow Homer said......."stick to your easel and keep your mouth shut."  Who loves ya, Don.






9 comments:

  1. Very fun post, thanks. Hope the weather holds up and say hi to Jane!

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  2. Bonjour Don,
    Très amusant, très humoristique que cette publication ! Dommage que vous soyez loin, je viendrais bien faire la débutante devant mon chevalet dans votre studio! ou alors faire une petite partie de golf à 500m plus loin, histoire de se mettre en train...
    Bisous
    (heureuse d'avoir de vos nouvelles via ma chère Susan!)

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  3. Gosh, still laughing from all of this!

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  4. Enjoy the new studio, Don..............and the hot tub, and the golf course and save a little time for the wife. I bet she'll appreciate that, too.

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  5. Don this is what I'm talking about! This photo looks like you! Love how you make me laugh. I spent the day frustrated in front of my easel again yesterday. Can't wait until you get going again and speak of your woes too.

    If you don't get painting soon, I think your head will explode!

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  6. Hey Don you have to love a MAC. Glad you're settling in. I think you meant "American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America",though.
    Have a great day.

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  7. Thanks everybody. Mike who? Brother: forgive the lapse in memory. Isn't Hughs great? I will be posting videos and paintings shorty--I'm starting to hate golf--so much practice and so little result. I am taking Pro arginine to roto rooter my arteries and to get some circulation in key areas like my hands, feet, and brain--and, o yes, my ear lobes. Don

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  8. Great post, Don, was just wondering about you..
    Someone once told me, "Golf is God's way of telling you that you have too much free time."

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