plaster
"Stella", 17"x13" clay
Last week I visited Santa Fe, NM with a friend and checked out some art galleries along Canyon Rd. With my portfolio in hand I visited about 8 galleries and talked with gallery reps, directors and owners. The first images I showed were various reliefs I've done over the last 1 1/2 years or so. Although a couple of galleries liked my work, the others said only I was technically good, but lacked any feeling with my works. One of them asked how I felt about a particular piece. This older gentleman struck a chord in my thinking and for the last few days I've been thinking about what he said and have tried to understand how I can connect more with my art and perhaps get more 'feeling' as he described. My friend told me to not think about it, I am talented and very good. But this will be with me, why some people love my work and others don't. Is it about feeling?
I made this relief of the model Stella after my trip to Santa Fe and it is not much different than my other reliefs other than I am more aware of this feeling I seem to lack. What is feeling in art, a connection? A personal expression of an artist? When I make these reliefs of people, mostly models that I hire, I don't know too much about them, but what I do know is they provide me with a form in order to practice my technique and capture a likeness. I learn about them as they model and as they tell me their stories I encourage them to pose as inspiration hits them. I don't usually have any ideas artistically other than move an arm here or turn a head more to the left. I don't think about Greek mythology or religion. Perhaps, I have done a few too many portraits over the last 15 years and have not allowed my inner voice to come out. Perhaps I've been too concerned with making my clients happy and not cared enough about expressing how I feel about a subject. Oh well, I know what I enjoy creating and that is all that really matters.
