Post-Storm Post

I want to share part of a newsletter I receive from a successful artist, Robert Genn.  He writes about many aspects of being an artist and I always find his letters valuable.  


Today his letter was contrasting the proliferation of digital photography in the art world versus painting.  I'm not sure I agree with some of the points made, but I did find these paragraphs thought provoking:

Paintings are handmade. Unlike the old Kodak ad, "You press the button, we do the rest," paintings take hours or even days of contemplation and hard-won private process. The art of painting can be an "event" that is felt by the viewer. 

Paintings are distinguished by texture. Texture is a mark of integrity and passion that the digital world has not yet mastered. Fine artists abandon texture at their peril.

Paintings are tangible. They don't float in clouds. Paintings have pride of place in prestigious museums and noble homes. Framed for strategic walls and inner sanctums, paintings become the love-objects of our lives.

Paintings, like bars of gold, are assets of investment and hoarding; a treasury that may span generations. "Artists," noted Salvador Dali, "are manufacturers of wealth."

Unlike the grinning and contrived poses snapped at barbeques, or the mug-shot of an uncle whose schnoz is memorable but whose name you've forgotten, paintings are true connections with a singular and real person. That person is you. When people collect art, they also collect the maker.

I'm still thinking about what he said here. 

On another note, Tropical Storm Debby is moving away from us today.  We still have wind gusts and an occasional rainstorm that passes by at 35 mph or so, but nothing like Sunday's deluge.  And in this area we were lucky to have no damage or flooding.  It was much worse in other areas and will be some time to clean up.  I hope everyone will stay safe as it crosses Florida and moves away.  I was sad to hear of a young mother who died in a tornado while holding her baby safely in her arms.  Also a mother manatee that was found on Bayshore Blvd in Tampa which was flooded.  I'm grateful for the many people who spent today trying to move sea turtle eggs to higher ground as the high tide washed the sand away from nests.  I hope tomorrow will be a better day for everyone affected.