Don't Knock (or Forget) The Basics

Landscape, still life, portraiture, animals...they get a bad rap sometimes, especially from artists that decided to move to a more abstract or conceptual realm, and I never understood why... Well OK, it's probably some combination of being force to do them for a long time, having a 'need' to separate themselves from the old masters, the subject not being the most engaging, having to listen to a hundred people tell you that abstract art is 'dumb' or 'not art' or the year of black and white still lives your teachers emphasized were 100% necessary...but even so, after years removed, you'd think the general angst between abstract and representational might have died down more than it has.

While they aren't really my cup or tea anymore, I never would have gotten where I am today without them. I used to do landscape after landscape, animal after animal, wine bottle after wine bottle. They taught me how to create a highlight on a glistening bottle, how to make a barn a mile off in the distance, and how to create a wet field after rain. They gave me texture, line-work, and color relationships, the main focus of much of my recent work and my major tools for creating work.

It may not be what I'm into now...but that doesn't mean they're worthless. Artists in school: Don't fret, you'll get your shot to do what you want. Artists out of school: don't forget the basics that got you where you are.