Van Gogh

Earlier this year after spending three months at The Celebration of Art in Scottsdale, Arizona, and painting virtually day and night without stopping (except for a few hours of sleep), I hit a total artist's block. When I got home, I was so mentally exhausted that I literally could not pick up a paint brush for almost two months. During that time I managed to work on my photo reference, compositions, and all the prep work that is involved in a painting, but I was really avoiding my studio. If I did go out with the intent to paint I would end up staring at my easel and paint brushes but I just could NOT force myself to paint. I had never felt like that before and I was facing a lot of my own fears. It wasn't that I didn't feel inspired or that I didn't want to paint, I think I was just burned out. As an artist I feel like that is totally normal. I just hadn't experienced it to that extreme before.

In the midst of this my wife came across this quote that we had never heard before. I have seen it many times since, but it applied to me perfectly at that time. And it really applies to anything in life.

“If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint“, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” 

Vincent van Gogh

Me and van Gogh at The Met in NYC in the spring of this year.

I have been more intrigued by this classical artists after connecting with his inspired words. The more I read about him the more fascinating he becomes. The following quote really made me see him in a different light.

“What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.” 

I really have a deep respect for van Gogh and can relate to many of his feelings (except for the insanity part I hope!). After a break from painting I gradually snapped out of it and have been going with an intensity like never before. I am learning over and over again this year that I really need to pace myself!

I hope you will join me tomorrow for my show "Rust". Click here for a preview of the paintings that are available.

305 Main Street

Park City, UT

Friday, Sept 28, 2012

Open house - 6-9 pm