IDEAPHORIA: THE GENERATION OF IDEAS

Hey guys... it's Loren here.  I've got some ramblings about my art and creativity that some times runs a muck!  I want to share my process of thinking about creating and generating ideas and concepts.  I feel it is time to discuss the depths of creating and producing "ideas" and how it effects my life on a daily basis.  It may effect your life too!

Lately, I've been a little restless with my work and trying to find firm footing. I know that I am in love with making and creating things. I've been this way my entire life. The reality is that I want to do so many things, see so many ideas come to fruition that I some times get a little overloaded.  I have to take a step back and decompress from the influx of concepts, ideas, imagery and visual stimulus.  I think I have written about this some posts ago (I have to search for it)?  I am racked by what is now called "ideaphoria'.  Basically, it's being over run by ideas!  This can be a good thing for some but not for everyone.  Being able to go to battle with the flood of energy and captivation of thinking that comes from ideas is a tricky line to navigate.  In one respect, creators may have loads of ideas and realize that it is so, therefore they need to block some out just to down right function and move forward day to day.  But, then they,  as everyone would, they need to ask them self  "may I be blocking out good, viable ideas that will never see the light of day since they are suppressed or essentially removed from my consciousness?"   So, the game and tightrope walking begins.

What to sort through and eliminate is no easy feat I must admit in my own life.  New ideas need to be able to germinate inside for a while to even tell if they are descent , productive concepts. By then, I can be bogged down in the minutia of each idea and hence the overloading starts to takes place. Let me give an example of my own brand of "ideaphoria". Now let me also say, that this is my brand and thinking and creative experience with this process. Yours might be a different flavor or color so to speak.  Every person, I believe has their unique process of ideas and thought generating concepts/

Many times when I am out in public or anywhere for that matter and, I will see something in a store window perhaps that is bright and colorful.  It captivates my visual attention and senses so intensely, so magically and mysteriously, that I then experience a internal jolt inside my mind signalling that a new idea is being formed. I then experience what I call a "POP" sensation that goes out into my consciousness as a new idea or concept for something that appears to me.  The idea maybe be nothing like or even remotely similar to what triggered the idea in the first place.  It could be just a "glance" or a 'peek"at something and viola! the idea is born and processing in my mind.  This is what was happening to me so much, so intensely that I had to put the brakes on it it because it was clogging my memory and thought process. I had to constantly say to myself, "NO" as if I was talking to the child part of my mind like everyone has.  (they just show up differently for each of us)  Now don't get me wrong. This idea generating process is not all that bad. I have learned that it can create euphoria and an increase in certain brain chemicals like adrenaline and endorphins, as well as change brain activity (too much to go into here) that makes us feel super good.  I imagine it is like a runners high, but having it intermittently all day long!   If this idea generating process is not curtailed, it is in essence is like you are running here and there all day, everyday.  Imagine that? Sounds tiring just to write about it much less experience it in it's rare form.  This is what is so overwhelming about this brain idea creating and idea producing 'machine like' thinking process.   It is exhausting at times, stressful at others but mostly I say it's the most enjoyable fun one can have with their closest friend and toy like product, " their brain!"

There is one more thing I'd like to share about this creative way of thinking.  I want to discuss to tell about the life of the most brilliant man I have ever known and the one who was never, ever short of ideas, my Dad!  My smart, funny and so super creative Dad was the gasoline that made the car run and run in life he he did. He was a toy inventor for Kohner Bros. Toys and everything he looked at, everything he experienced was seen and felt through the lens of his intriguing, fascinating and brilliant mind.  He was playful, imaginative, innovative in every way.  His mind was always going even when he was working or drafting one thing, he was thinking up a slue of other products, toys and inventions at the same time!.  To me, he was the ultimate creator and one inventor that created the imaginary world we live in.  Nothing passed his spirit and soul without being absorbed into his brain and juggled around and then pushed back out producing sketches, drawings and demonstrations of the wildest, funniest things one can imagine.  He was said to have "done the work of what would have been five men", at Kohner Bros. Toys.!  He was prolific in every sense of the word. He used up every minute of time creating and his nourishment for a mind that was way ahead of it's time. Creativity was no laughing matter for my Dad, but then again, it was the laughing matter!  My Dad, the man who could create something, anything that would help one to leap tall buildings 'with out' needing a single bound.  The man that turned the creative world on his head, was not able to insulate himself from the stress of life and the enormous responsibility he had.  Four children and no 'Momma to care for my siblings and me.  My Gram helped and tried and did her best but it was fate that had already been handed down.  My Dad, the light of my life, the man who knew how to have fun and how to show me how to express myself and have fun too, as well as the creator who taught me how to live as a creative soul, tragically lost his life at the age of 40 from a heart attack

That was truly...the day the music died.

So, after that experience, life certainly moved on but it is lived from a different perspective and purpose. Everyone who has ever known me knows that creativity became and is now the center of my life with the 'ideaphoria' pattern of thinking becoming an everyday experience.  Now, when I experience the 'ideaphoria', I don't feel as annoyed, angry, frustrated or upset anymore as one would expect. Actually, I now welcome it at times because I think that every time an idea comes to my mind, it is a little message, a sign and reminder that my Dad is watching over me and filling my heart with lots of creative ideas and concepts which he loved so much. I feel it is a way of communicating with him. I carry on his legacy in a unusual way and hope that I share even some small amount of the extraordinary abilities my Dad may have passed down to me both genetically and experiential?

For me now, I have found a great way to deal with the overload that I have some times feel by writing my ideas ( if I can remember them), down in a specifically designated journal for inventions and ideas.  I find it frees up some mental space and leaves a little room internally to focus on the present! I highly recommend a visual journal for anyone who experiences 'ideaphoria' or just wants to record your ideas.  I don't concern myself with the quality of the sketches or drawings and ramblings of my ideas.  I just scribble them down as precisely as I can without being a perfectionist.

Well, that's a wrap up for this post.  Thanks so much for reading through this entire post.  It's certainly an important issue concerning some artists and inventors.  Leave a comment if you have any of your own ideas or thoughts about "ideaphoria".  I realize that we must all be patient with people who process ideas the way I have explained in this post , as I need to be patient with myself.  Keep creating and coming up with ideas.  It fills the world with love, happiness and joy!  Without it, we would wilt on the vine!

Cheers,

Loren

NEW PAINTING FEATURED 'ON MY EASEL'

'HERES LOOKING AT YOU, KID!'  2012  oil on canvas  (c) Loren Fidalgo 2012

Well, it's time for an 'on my EASEL' painting to be featured on my blog and this painting is a little different than I usually talk about.  Maybe it is because I posted my painting, 'CHUNKY, CHUNKY GIRL' yesterday and it just put me in a funny and light hearted mood? Yeahhh..., yesterday's painting post,  it's still cracking me up!   So here goes another round...

When I first started this painting in 2012, I was really interested in faces and depicting the human face in my sketches and paintings. I usually love to add these big super huge cheeks to illustrate the delight and charm of my characters.  That's not to say that my faces are always happy and elated.  Sometimes they are somber and suffering with despair.  (that's a subject for another post) For this post, I will be focusing on this particular painting 'Here's looking at you, kid!' and the joyful nature of this girl and her suitor who came to give her his heart.

In one of my painting classes I was taking at the time of this painting, I was doing a lot of sketches in my book and the idea was that they were supposed to be from my imagination and/or a memory from something I saw during my day.. In this class, I learned to draw from lightly scribbling on the paper and watching until eventually something would emerge from the scribbling  Maybe it was from my imagination or maybe even a dream?.  Well, most of my scribble drawings I drew became faces of people with a lot of interesting features that had a lot of character.  When I first started painting, I would paint large red and round circles for cheeks and then around 2010, I started creating these paintings with these round, ball cheeks that seemed to be popping out of the faces and off the canvases..  What the large cheeks truly meant, I did not know however, I kept drawing and painting them.

In this painting , she has really large cheeks as I have mentioned  and she seems to be just thrilled with who she is and what she is about. (so I think.  I haven't asked her!).  She is delighted with the little male bird has chosen to make it's way over to her to give her his heart.  He reaches his beak up to her while holding the little red heart as symbolism  for his literal heart. This bird surely wants to give himself to her.   The excitement on her face is clearly evident and it reminds me of the place I was in emotionally when I painted her.  She seems somewhat coquetious, and a little kooky as if she is so proud of herself and why shouldn't she be?  I wasn't feeling in the same mood when I painted her, so I don't know where I pulled this image from my mind, that has such a euphoric tone. Possibly, it was from another part of my mind that I was not accessing at the time I was painting?  That happens to me sometimes. Maybe it happens to you, too?   For me, I will paint and just be in the 'zone' so deeply that may not be conscious of what I am expressing.  Sometimes, I don't know for months or years as in this painting what it is truly about. And the colors...I also don't know why I chose to paint with the colors I did?

This painting is in oils and in this painting the colors are Naples Yellow, Cadmium Red, Titanium White, Cerealean Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Ivory Black and Cadmium Yellow.  I love to paint faces in yellows and warm colors.  I especially love to use Naples Yellow in my faces.  I know it can be tricky color to use and sometimes it can be overused, but at the time I had seemed to be taken to it and loved the buttery consistency and texture. .  I used Utrecht Brand oils then and I still do. I love them and they meet my needs.

So that's a wrap up for 'on my EASEL'.  I hope you enjoyed this one?  I think I am still discovering what my paintings are all about and I like to share the journey of discovery with you.  Keep reading my posts and please feel free and easy to leave a comment if you would like?  I'd love to hear what you are thinking and feeling?

Cheers for now,
Loren

QUESTIONING CHALLENGES AND BRAVERY

' CHUNKY, CHUNKY GIRL'    oil on canvas  2010  30x40  (c) Loren Fidalgo 2010

Every time I look at this painting it just cracks me up!  I don't know why I painted it and what the inspiration was, but I just love it.( Possibly, I will do an 'on my easel' and talk about what I THINK it is about?)  I thought this painting would be a good lead in to this post since she surely looks like she has something going on and is a little flirty with her winking eye. I know she is somewhat fearless but that is not totally what I was feeling when I put the paint on the canvas and so I ask "why"? "Why is she fearless?" She looks as if she is so free and easy going and that is definetly the place we all would like to be.  Well, maybe some of us? For me it has been a little bit challenging to be totally fearless but it's getting better especially these in past few weeks and months.
My journey the last few months has been an interesting one. I have been feeling a little more uncertain and unsure and have lost some faith about some aspects of my life and the direction I am going in than I usually do.  For those who do not know, about 6 years ago, a huge 10lb. ceramic vase came flying down onto my head in the Ceramics class I was taking and changed my life forever.   After chatting with my friend Jill the other day about this accident experience, l have been thinking a lot about the vase that fell on my head 6 years ago and how it has impacted me, my decisions, my preferences, my needs and my passions  (read more about head injury here and here )   I still do not know whether the head injury I developed had really influenced my desires and my calling into painting and mixed media.  Actually, I had been doing various kinds of art since childhood so it might have just been random?   But this change seemed different in it's flavor and intensity. I do know that I have not looked back to the life I had before. Since then I have slowly but certainly become more open, more free and more uninhibited than I ever was before the vase fell on my head.  Before the accident,  I felt I somewhat closed, isolated and wanting to be alone a lot.  I guess I was introverted and a little shy and I felt that venturing out was a scary and challenging thing for me to do.  Now I feel so free, I am being 'brave' and wanting to express myself so intensely and even more than I did when I first began painting.  I have become much more social and needing that 'girlfriend experience'  more often.  Friends are so important to me and making them seems effortless and joyful now.  Oh, how much has changed.  I have more courage than I used to.  Confidence in my work and my direction is still a little bit shaky, but it is also getting better everyday, as well.  I just look at things differently now.  There was a 'shift', a 'snap', a 'pop' in my psyche after the injury that I still can not explain.  Not knowing whether I suffered any damaged really is a curious thing for me to ponder.  I ask myself often, "why have I changed?  Where in my brain did I change? Why have my desires and my artistic interests changed so dramatically? Why did my life change creatively and socially?"

I think I will forever wonder what happened to me that day in 2008?  I will always contemplate if painting and mixed media was a calling as a result from the head injury or just a mere coincidence or odd happening that was bound to come out some time and reveal itself to me any how.  The question still remains?  I think this painting 'Chunky, Chunky Girl' is possibly about letting yourself go and shedding old skin.  Maybe it's about a way of saying,  "Hey there.  I see you and you see me?" Maybe it's about revealing ourselves to ourselves and to others and feeling more vulnerable when we do it?  Maybe it's about stepping forward and being who you truly are, chunky or not chunky and naked or not naked?  But in the end of this post, I have come to think that this painting is about totally about 'bravery'.  Brave that we put ourselves out there and that we don't really know what will come back to us.  So that is where I will leave it for now, 'CHUNKY GIRL' is about being BRAVE.

If you have encountered any experience like mine or just want to comment about being brave, , please leave a message? I would love to hear from you.  I have heard other people having a similar thing happen to them and I would love to know how many there are out there? 

Thanks for reading my post.
Cheers,
Loren

NEW 'on my EASEL' PAINTING TALKED ABOUT

Time for a new 'on my EASEL' painting to be discussed on my blog. This is where I talk about what went into creating a painting.  Basically, it is about how and why I created this featured painting..

'SEARCHING FOR MEANING'   oil on canvas  18x24   (c) Loren Fidalgo 2010 

The painting I am writing about is titled, 'SEARCHING FOR MEANING'.  It is 18x24 and oil on canvas. I really enjoyed creating this piece and I liked the opportunity to dig deep into what goes into the struggle when one is looking for purpose in their life'.  I believe that the seeking and searching may be something that most of us go through some time in our lives. Whether it be addiction to drugs, alcohol, mental illness, emotional loss of a loved one, divorce or trauma or just simple 'existential questioning'.  We may ask ourselves questions... we may tell ourselves what seems to be lies that "we can handle it." With this painting, I am asking, "How do we find the reason? How do we find joy in life, when things are not going our way or we are in pain? How do we find hope?" 

When I began this painting, I had a strong image in my mind about what I wanted to express.  I had the concept in my thoughts about a woman and her struggle to find the reasons for living and why she is here. I wanted to express how it is usually the little things in life that are often missed when one is depressed and feeling like there is no hope. Elements like the flower and butterfly were thought of to  help portray my concept.  I wanted to depict this idea by playing off of a simple phrase that is often said to someone to let them know how they are not valuing the simple things in life.  'Take time to smell the flowers'.  Possibly, people might think that one is not grateful for the little things and they need to take the time to look and see what is right in front of them? For this woman, to smell the flowers is her symbolic way to express her desire to feel what she is missing, the 'joy of life'. She is looking, seeking, hoping and longing. 

 I painted this in a subtle cubist like style and use thick, textured paint. The cubist style helped me to convey the ambivalence that this woman is having in her life.  The woman's eyes are disjointed and each one is looking back out at 'YOU'. This is her way of saying, "I see you, I'm looking at you looking at me and I see that you are wondering what is wrong with me and you are wondering, "why I am 'searching for meaning?" I decided to depict her nude so she is in her most vulnerable and fragile state. The colors I chose are purples, greens, oranges, yellows and reds.  I like the way the colors interact with each other, such as the oranges and greens and purples and yellows.  I used a palette knife to sculpt this entire painting. I stroked the knife on the canvas, moving it in many directions as I carved into the paint. You can see this in the swirls of her hair and the texture in her body.

 In closing about this painting,, the question is inevitably asked, "Does this woman find her meaning?  Well, that is for you to decide.  What do you think?

 I hope you enjoyed the in-depth look into this piece?  If you would like to, please leave a comment or question.  Thanks for reading this post and stay tuned in for the next one.

Cheers,

Loren

PAINTING 'WEEPING' SERIES CREATING JOY AND BLISS

Hey guys... I wanted to fill you in on my progress and the joy painting the 'WEEPING' series.

I am so excited about this group of paintings and I can't wait to show them to you.  I am finding it interesting creating a series of paintings especially because they are abstract.  For me, with this series, my paintings are about emotion, form and color.  Lot's of color.  Each painting has been having a different impact on me and each one has pulled up different feelings. I have been experiencing' joy and bliss' and 'sadness and melancholy'.  I guess I could say I am totally 'in love' with the entire series and I am enjoying the whole process creating these paintings. From exhilaration to anxiety, I am finding my 'groove' and I think I am 'getting it' for a change!

 

Stay tuned in...because I am more than half the way done with the series and I can't wait to show them to you.

Cheers,
Loren

NEW 'ON MY EASEL' PAINTING FEATURED

Hey guys...it's time for a 'on my easel' painting to be featured on my blog.  This is where I share with you the how's and why's of how I paint my paintings.

This posts painting is titled,  'The bombs bursting in air 9 11'.  This painting is 24x30 and oil on canvas.

The Bombs bursting in air  9 11    2013        oil on canvas   24x30       (c) Loren Fidalgo

When I first began this painting, it was totally abstract and there were no recognizeable images.  As I was making the curve on the left side and making the circle below it, I began to see a face on the canvas looking back at me through the palette knife marks I had made..   I decided to try to reveal what was beneath the marks and realized the face looked like myself.  It was becoming a self portrait of sorts and I knew I felt that I needed to follow the image and see where it led me.  After I unearthed the portrait, I began to see that the image was weeping with blood red tears below her left eye.  I stroked the paint down from the face with a palette knife and the tears just poured out of it's eyes.  I was not sure what was happening with the painting. I also started to recognize long painted strokes that seemed to be shooting out of the forehead of the face that resembled The Statue of Liberty which was weeping with tears pouring out from her eyes.  Then out of somewhere in my consciousness, I recognized the tall building in the background where I had stenciled some square patterned shapes on the surface, It looked as if there were fire and smoke coming out of the stenciled windows. I knew that was not an abstract painting any longer. The painting began to open itself up to me as The Statue of Liberty weeping as the towers burned and then ultimately fell to the ground.  You can say that this was not a 'happy' painting.
I was also stunned at what I had created on the canvas.  It was not planned nor was it intentional.  It just flowed out of my hand and brush and onto the canvas without consciously thinking about it.  If you might ask," how did I really create this experience in this painting"?  I can only tell you, "I do not know" What I do know is that something was channeling through me about the horror and sadness of that day 9 11 and it appeared on my painting. I was just the vechile and I had to paint it on the canvas.

Thanks for reading this post.  Please feel free to leave comments or messages.  It's greatly appreciated. 
If you are interested in a print of this painting, please contact me through the message box on the left side bar of this blog.  If for some reason you can not leave a message, you can leave one at my etsy shop www.lorenfidalgoart.etsy.com.
Cheers,
Loren

SAYING 'GOOD-BYE' TO UTRECHT

Last Tuesday night,  I was leaving my painting class at Fleisher Art Memorial and drove onto Spruce Street to make my way home.  As I approached the light at Broad Street and Spruce Street, I slowly glanced over to my left as I always did at that stop. Now it is where I see that Utrecht Art Supplies Store is dark and closed for the good. All the signs are still up around the building though, which gives it an erie ghost like feeling. 

About 4-5 months ago, I learned that Utrecht would be merged into Dick Blick art supply store and the Utrecht I knew would be no more.  You see, Utrecht was not just a art supply store to me, it was a hip, chic, cool, trendy place where artists from all over Philadelphia purchased their art supplies.  Their employees were art students and it had this feel of 'pure art'.  They featured a cork board where artists could post their info, business cards etc.  It was a place to mingle.  Utrecht was the 'it' place to shop in the art world in Philly. Their prices were awesome and they always had what you needed. A lot of their supplies were behind the counter where students artists would assist you with your chosen materials.

Utrecht was not just a art supply store to me but a place where memories were formed and made, a place where my personality was defined and a talent was realized. 

When I first moved to Philly to attend Moore College of Art and Design, Utrecht was the place to go for most art supplies.  I remember when I walked the first time from my dorm room on Cherry Street to Utrecht at 14th and Broad Street with my friend Linda.   It was 17 blocks, seemed so far but well worth the trip.  I realized I was being introduced to a city for the first time in my life.  Utrecht seemed so 'cool' to me back then.  I had never been in an art supply store like it.  Illustration board, Letraset press type, Chartpak press type were the top supplies that I purchased at Utrecht.  Airbrush machine and supplies were 'hot' and drafting tables were 'in'. If you remember that computers had not arrived in to colleges in 1983 and everything was done by hand, from rub down type to colored rub down film that came in such an array of colors that amazed me.  These were the days of Pantone markers for marker renderings to matching colored papers and film were the top materials that we used in school.  Illustration board was the top material to create designs, logos and advertisements to prepare artwork for printing presses.  When I went there I felt like I was in artists heaven!

I loved Utrecht. I loved the materials they carried , the ambience of the store as well as the people that shopped there.  I loved Utrecht for carrying the fabric paint called DEKA (now out of business) when I started painting T-shirts, baby clothes and pillows.  After college, I moved to 17th Street and Spruce and Utrecht was just a couple blocks from my apartment.  I remember the days of carrying home large sheets of illustration board and matte board inside large clear plastic bags.  Some time after I moved to my apartment, Utrecht moved across the street and on the other side of Spruce Street.  I didn't like it as much as the first location, but tried to adjust with the times.  Utrecht always had the paint I used in acrylic and oil.  They had canvases that I really loved.  They’re canvases were weighty and had a strong cross bars in the back for extra support.  The texture of the canvas was great to paint on and after I first began painting, I ordered 10 canvases 30x40 and had them shipped to my home.  The total cost was approx. $180.00 for the 10.  Can you beleive it?  That was $18.00  for one 30x40.  I still have two remaining and I will save them for a special project.

Utrecht is where I found most of my 'bags of tricks' on my blog.  It is where my early college years had formed strung memories of friendship. It is where I learned about walking the city for the first time and where I felt like and learned to live and feel like an artist.  Now Utrecht has formed some sort of partnership with Dick Blick and they have finally left their home on Broad Street and Spruce Street.  Dick Blick is located on 13th and Chestnut Street approx. 4 blocks from Utrecht's former location.  They said that they will still carry Utrechts paint but not their canvases.  I have never used a Dick Blick canvas and I hope they are as good as Utrecht’s.

Utrecht has moved on to a new venture and I will miss it.  I will never forget the memories it created for me.  I will never forget the way it gave me an introduction into the art scene in Philadelphia. and helped me become a professional artist..  Utrecht, like Borders Book Store will be thought of as a happy, welcoming and teaching experience for me.  So, Utrecht I say my goodbyes to you.  Thank you for all the memories and for opening the world to help me live and become an artist. 

Cheers.

Loren

THE LANDSDALE ART FESTIVAL

Hi, there. I wanted to share some photos from the Landsdale Art Festival.

I really want to thank my husband Paul and my brother Ken for helping me make the event happen.  They were both an enormous help and without them, I wouldn’t have been able to assemble everything, and carry everything to the show. My husband Paul was so dear and he helped me build the wooden easels, from sawing, drilling and painting them.  He is such a 'gem’.   Ken had his truck, and even so, we were packed solid with easels and boxes of paintings.  Ken was so awesome because he made me easels out of PVC piping and along with the wooden ones I made with my husband, they all looked so great.  The paintings sat on them so nicely and they really allowed them to shine.  He also made me a rack to display my small paintings.

The day was so beautiful nevertheless, when we arrived on the site, it was windy.  It was something that we didn’t expect.  But thanks to my brother and my thinking, we attached some really large white sheets (purchased many years back, preparing for this possible event) to the top of our tent with Ken's nifty plastic ties.  He also attached them to the bottom of the tent legs on two sides.  This really cut down on the wind and it gave the tent a really awesome feel to it when the sun shone in so bright. It had this heavenly, ethereal ambiance to it when the sun was shining in it. It was an unexpected joyful effect.

My friends Rebekah and Nerida also came to show there support.  They got lost on the way to the show so thank goodness they made it there.  They brought me a small birthday cake and a birthday gift.  It was very sweet and I was thankful for having them as my friends.

Well, the day flew by and it seemed that just as how soon we put everything up, we had to take everything down and pack up.  So pack up we did and off to home we went.  Good-bye Landsdale.  See you again next year.

Leave a comment if you would like to comment about what you think about my booth display and the artwork showing.  I'd love to hear what my viewers think about my work, so feel free to comment.

Cheers,
Loren 

TAKING A LEAP OF FAITH

I have some news to let you in on.  A couple of days ago, I signed up to participate in a contest called the 'Global Talent Search'. It is being sponsored by Lilla Rogers Studio.  (you have to checkout her website www.lillarogers.com  It is very 'cool'). The contest is for one chosen artist to receive 2 years of representation from Lilla Rogers Studio and a whole bunch of art licensing deals.

Although I am feeling a Iittle bit nervous...I know this is a great opportunity that I definitely want to be a part of because the potential is huge.  I am filled with so many emotions ranging from joy, exhilaration to anticipation. I am a little anxious to get started. Only one talented artist will be chosen, so the stakes are high.

Along the way, pursuing licensing has been challenging for me.  Many times I have wanted to throw in the towel but something bigger than me has kept me pursuing my dreams.  Perhaps fate has brought me to this potential opportunity. I have learned to never give up even though things do not look promising.  Never take no for an answer, even if other s are not in my corner. I am learning to hold tight to my dreams and somehow, someway my destiny will reveal itself to me.  I think that licensing is the path I was meant to take.  For some reason, my destiny has led me to this fantastic potential opportunity.  It would be a dream to be represented by Lilla Rogers Studio.

I have to ask myself, "Do I have the talent? Is this the right fit?" All I know is that I am excited for the chance and I am ready to let my creative energies do what they do best.  Create!!

Follow along with me as I journal my day to day experiences and the process of creating new art for this contest.  I am sure it will be fascinating to go through the creative and emotional ups and downs that it will take to make this dream a reality  I will be linking my blog posts to my painting blog, so you are sure to not miss anything.  Stay tuned!

Cheers,

Loren

'ON MY EASEL' HOW I CREATE MY ART

Hey, folks.  I'm starting a new section on my blog called 'on my EASEL'.  This will feature new work that I will be creating, as well as recent abstract work from 2012 and some earlier works that I have yet to feature on my blog. I thought to create this section to share with you the whys, the whats and the hows about my process of painting. The hows and whys about  coming up with the ideas, colors, forms and the how I approach a painting from technique to thought process.  

I think an artist's thought process is so important to get to know the artist's inner soul.  It helps you to get to know how the artists thinks and feels.  I thought I would like to start this section to give you a 'play by play' of the world that I go into when I am creating.  I will talk about what I am inspired by.  It could be colors, shapes, memories of certain experiences, patterns and emotions/feelings. conversations with other people, reading, looking out my windows at nature and so on...  For me, when I am approaching a conceptual piece it always starts with a feeling or idea in my mind.  When painting abstract, it starts with some things more ambiguos like colors, shapes and patterns that I am imagining in my head.  Some days are  feeling like a yellow day and some days a crimson day and so on.... Some times I see a beautiful color and need to paint it out to see how it feels. Some times circles or squares keep nagging at me until I put the paint on the canvas. I never know what will capture my attention and be in the fore front of my mind when I am painting or creating anything so follow along with me as I try to explain my unexplainable process of creating art.

Check back to see what's 'on my EASEL'.  I hope to see you here again!

Cheers, Loren

AN INTERVIEW WITH FRED KAPLAN ARTIST AND TEACHER PART TWO

Hi everyone.  Thanks for coming to my blog to read the interview I did with Fred Kaplan.   It has gotten a good response from my readers and thanks to all who followed part one last week.  If you have not yet read part one, just scroll down the page to the end of this post and you will see the banner for it.  Also, don't forget to take a peek at Fred's work on his very cool website.  It is full of info and material advice for artists.

Last week I talked with Fred about his childhood and when he developed an interest in art.  We also talked about his college education and his career as an illustrator in the advertising world.  Fred gave some pretty interesting responses to my questions and I hope you are learning some about him as a person, artist and educator.  Part two is as interesting as part one. so stay checked in...

Let's get started

on teaching...
I know you teach at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine arts as well as at Fleisher Art Memorial.  

Fleisher has the only free tuition art classes in the country.  It’s an awesome place to learn, create, and have some fun and to feel a sense of community.  I must say myself that I have had some times in my years at Fleisher, when I was out of sorts, the Fleisher classes kept me in the loop and helped me from being isolated. I often wonder how many people it has helped in a deep, deep meaningful way? Fleisher offers workshops for kids and adults and has just won a national award for excellence.

* What is your experience like teaching at Fleisher?

Fleisher’s is a terrific school and an affordable alternative to an art college. There is hardly a decent artist in Philadelphia who has not taken classes at Fleisher’s.

One of the things that drew me to teach there is the fact that a majority of students are quite serious about making art. For an instructor, that is important.

* How long have you been there and why?

I began teaching at Fleisher’s in 2008.

* You take your teaching very seriously and I have seen it in every class I’ve taken with you.  Some times teachers don’t invest a lot of themselves in each student and you do.  Why and how do you make this happen?

When a person is ravenous enough to drag him or herself to a class after an exhausting workday, I owe it to that student to provide a wholesome and delicious banquet, including dessert. So I cook up a meal that satisfies students’ hunger to learn, and supply knives, forks, and spoons so students can eventually feed themselves.

* You mentioned in class last cycle, that women artists are only recently being taken seriously and being respected in the art community.  What advice would you give to women artists that want to pursue a career in painting or the fine arts?

It is a different world today than it was not all that long ago. In the recent past white males dominated most everything. Now women, blacks, gays, and others are able to hold their own, in society in general as well as in the arts. There is still a ways to go – there are still inequities and unfairness – but we are well along the road.

The advice I would give to a female artist is the same as I would give to anyone pursuing any profession. Learn your craft well, work diligently and persevere, put into what you do all that you are, and let no one discourage you. You should also learn the business aspects of your profession. Make yourself aware of what other artists are doing and what they have done in the past so that you can find your own place in the contemporary art world. Get to know people in the professional community: other artists, dealers, collectors, curators, and so on.

* How does a student painter know that they have crossed the threshold and are ready to pursue painting as a profession?

Professionalism is an attitude or way of thinking more than anything else. Once you acquire a professional mind-set you will know it.

* I’ve noticed that in most classes you teach, there are mostly women students. Do you have any thoughts about that?

I’m not sure of the reason for this. You see the same thing at art colleges, as well. Another thing I’ve noticed is that there are few African-American students. This seems odd in a city like Philly with its large Black population. Again, I have no explanation.

* Where else do you teach and how does teaching crossover or help you with your own work?

Besides Fleisher’s, I teach at the Pennsylvania Academy and at Cumberland County College. I also occasionally run classes in my studio and workshops for other institutions. You can find information about open enrollment sessions at the Classes & Workshop page of my web site.

Teaching at Fleisher’s or anywhere is a gratifying experience. It means a lot to me when I see a student achieve something or have an “ah-ha” moment. I also learn from my students. They have interesting concepts, try things I haven’t thought of, and discover ways of making pictures that haven’t occurred to me. I have to admit that I am not above “borrowing” from my students. After all, one of the 20th century’s greatest artists, Pablo Picasso, was also one of its greatest thieves.

FKAPLAN      Electron Exchange                                    2010        Oil On Canvas            18x48

Save Fred’s studio…

* Some months back, you launched a campaign (an advertising phrase) to save your studio, and you did.  It was a good idea and it worked.  Do you think you used some of that old fashioned advertising creative thinking to make that happen?  What was the whole experience like for you and how long will it keep you going?    Do you have any thing else in your “bag of tricks”?

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention, and I had a necessity. As you say, it worked and I was able to keep my studio, and any experience that helps me keep making pictures is a good experience. My goal, the goal of most artists is to make enough money to allow them to make art. So, whatever it takes to achieve that I will do – within legal boundaries, of course.

* I wanted to mention this because it has opened in my thoughts.  I think it is often to bad that artists have so many struggles just to create. It is not looked upon as a necessary part of our culture, even though it is absorbed and desired by everyone to enlighten and enrich lives.  Art and artists are not valued in our country. In some European countries, art and artists are valued and respected as an integral part of their society and they are helped and subsidized, so they can work as artists.  One country I think of is Holland.  There, art and design is not looked upon as a hobby or pastime, or that one is “lazy” but as a genuine and legitimate career choice. Beautiful art and design are desired by the people who live in Holland and there country puts there money where there mouth is!  Just a thought….  What are your thoughts about the differences in other countries?

I’m not sure that I agree with you about attitudes toward art. When I tell people my profession, they don’t leap up and accuse me of being a loafer. Usually they are curious and in some cases they are delighted to meet a “real artist.”

Although some other countries provide more financial support for their artists than the U.S. does, private organizations and governments at all levels – national, state, local – provide quite a few grants and subsidies to individual artist. Still, it is a difficult struggle for many.

Now most important, let’s talk about your work…

* Let’s talk about the recent work you have been creating?  What’s going on in the studio now and what do you want to share with the readers?  I would like to talk some about your work and the thought process about it?

For the past few years I have been making pictures related to physics. But I am getting an itch to explore a new direction, which happens from time to time. My daughter was considering a career in genetics for a while. That got me interested in the subject and that is likely to be the new direction in which I head.

Whatever kind of work I happen to be doing, there is almost always a fair amount of research involved. For instance, to develop a painting that addressed genocide, I read extensively about the issue in order to make a meaningful image. Right now I am starting to learn about the science of genetics.

* Recently, I saw your work exhibited at the Cerulean Art Gallery.  How was the experience in that gallery? 

Cerulean has been developing a fine reputation over the past few years, and I am proud to have been invited to participate in one of its exhibits. I like the owner, and admire him for the risk he took in opening the gallery and for his inventive ideas for making his gallery more relevant. 
         

FKAPLAN             Ion Storm              2010                                    Oil On Canvas   20x72

* Is their any inside scoop about what you are working on currently?

* I have always wondered about this question…I’ve heard that some artists do this…Do you feel protective over a body of work before it is completed.  I mean do you hold back some from presenting your work before the entire collection is finished?

In some cases, yes, and in others, no. If it is a group of works in which every piece is an integral part of the whole, then I really don’t want the series seen until everything is complete. Otherwise, I am not particularly secretive about what I am doing.

* Why are you taking the specific path creatively that you are going down now?

I am not quite sure what you mean here. If you are talking about the kinds of pictures I make, then I think I’ve already addressed that.

* Where can the readers see some more of your work?

Tyme Gallery in Havertown has some of my work. People can also see images on the Gallery page of my web site, or subscribe to the site in order to receive exhibit announcements. Sometime during the next year I will be having a one-person show at a venue in New Jersey; the dates haven’t been set yet.

In closing….

* Are you doing what you want to be doing now and are you where you want to be?

Sounds like another job interview questions.

* Besides the visual arts what other creative arts influence you?

Literature and music mainly. Some of my ideas come from musical works.

     * Favorite artist/painter

     * Favorite music (do you have any of your daughters musical ability?)

     * Favorite author (that’s if you have the time to read)

As you well know, since I have talk about her in my classes, my daughter is a fine musician. She is first chair cello and first chair French horn at her high school, as well as being a member of an elite group of 16 vocalists. She has done a few semi-professional gigs so, if any of your readers has a wedding or other event coming up, her string ensemble is available.

As to artists, musicians, and authors, I really don’t have a single favorite in any category, although there are a few that I especially like.

Artists would be Caravaggio, William Bailey, Mark Rothko, Wayne Thiebaud, Casper David Friedreich, and Frederic Edwin Church, plus a few others. Neil Diamond is high on my list of popular musicians; along with Peter, Paul, and Mary; Elton John; and Simon and Garfunkel. In the classical sphere it’s Wagner, Rimsky Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, and of course Beethoven. There are a great many authors that I admire. Dostoevsky, Hugo, and Poe are a few.

* If you could live the life of any artist in history, with all their hang-ups, neurosis and shortcomings, what artist would you want to be and why?

Frederic C. Kaplan. I have my own problems, why would I want somebody else’s?

* And lastly, if you could own one piece of art ever created, irrespective of the money it may have sold for or generated, what piece would you want to own and why?

This is a tough one, but I think it would have to be Moorish Chief by Eduard Charlemont in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I wouldn’t turn my nose up, though, at most anything by Dali, Vermeer, or Rothko.

Well, that wraps up a great question and answer interview with Fred. Thank you Fred for your generous time letting my readers know more about you and your art.  Please check out Fred's website to see his work and for questions you might have about art materials and advice.  It's well worth the time to experience Fred's paintings.

Keep checking in on my blog to read more about my experience on art and painting.  Feel free to leave a comment.  Again, thank you everyone.

Cheers,
Loren

AN INTERVIEW WITH FRED KAPLAN PAINTER AND TEACHER

FKAPLAN   A Curious Place             Oil On Canvas  2011  32x48

Hi everyone, thank you for coming to my blog to read my interview with Fred Kaplan, artist and teacher.  I'm so excited to have Fred talk about art and creativity. 

When I was thinking about doing this interview I tried to focus on questions that 'you the reader' would like to ask Fred, if you had the chance to.  I wanted to know things about Fred as a painter, as well as a teacher, and I thought you would, too.  Follow along as Fred takes us through the journey he has been on to arrive at the place he is today, as an artist and teacher.  I've decided to post most of the interview since I liked Fred's answers, so I will split it into two parts.  Check back for the second part next week.

Let me mention that I met Fred 3 1/2 years ago when I signed up for my first painting class at Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia.  I develop an interest in painting after I was "clunked" on the head with a ceramic vase that fell off of a shelf (read the story here).  Fred walked me through the process of painting as I struggled with my issues of using color, as well as using very thick paint.  I have taken Fred's class often because I am still learning from him every week.  I really love his class because I have seriously seen growth in my work and it has been enhanced from learning painting techniques from Fred.

Fred does have some funny antics and he might be thought of as a little eccentric by some, however, he is an effective teacher and and awesome painter.  Fred has a very cool website which features his work.

It also is chockful of information about art and art materials for students and artists.  Check it out..... www.kaplanpicturemaker.com


So let’s talk with Fred...

* I always find this question interesting even though it is always asked.   When did you first recognize that you had the gift of artistic skill and creativity?  How did it reveal itself to you?  I mean, did you start drawing, painting or coloring outside the lines?

Drawing was just something that I’ve always done and enjoyed. One day, my fifth grade teacher talked about this guy named Rembrandt who was The Master of Light and Shadow and I decided at that moment that I also wanted to be a master of light and shadow.

* Were your artistic skills encouraged when you were a child?

My parents boasted of my skills and showed off my pictures to impress others. Other than that, though, thoughts of an art career were discouraged. As with many parents, mine believed that it was impossible to earn a decent living as an artist. They were not wholly incorrect, for it is exceedingly difficult. Instead they urged me to pursue medicine or law or some other high-paid and socially prestigious profession; the dream of every Jewish mother is, I guess, to have a doctor for a son.

* Where did you get you college education and what was your major?

While still in high school I participated in a Saturday program run by the Philadelphia school district and attended evening open figure drawing sessions at Fleisher’s. Unfortunately, the Saturday program is no more, although the school district now has its High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, which I very much wish existed when I was a public school student. After high school I went on to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts while I continued to take occasional classes at Fleisher’s. At that time all evening classes were free, which was just the right price for an extremely poor student. Eventually I earned a certificate and MFA in painting from the Academy.

* What kind of student were you?

I am told that college transcripts are confidential, and I don’t want to violate any laws, so I think I’ll have to withhold that information.

* What field of art did you pursue after college?

My first art-related job actually came while still in high school. I worked on the advertising staff for a now defunct supermarket chain. Although I didn’t get to do much in the way of actual artwork (mostly I was a go-fer), I did learn a lot. After college I got a position as an embroidery designer, which was pretty interesting, and later as a trade show exhibit designer. Through the years I’ve driven taxis, sold shoes, did telemarketing, worked at a couple of art supply stores, and had a variety of sales jobs as I struggled to build a clientele for a illustration and graphic design business. Eventually I was able to go off on my own and earn a decent living as an independent artist.

* I know you were an illustrator for some time.  Tell me about what that profession was like and if you were you passionate about it?

Commercial art is a feast-or-famine type of business for the independent artist. There are times you have so many assignments that you get little or no rest, although you earn plenty of money, and other times when you have next to nothing to do at all and little income. While I enjoyed doing illustration, I resented the creative restraints, which ultimately led me to give it up and make a go at being a fine artist.

* What medium did you work in?

As an illustrator a range of media were used: acrylic paint, gouache paint, watercolor, pen and ink, and scratchboard, along with a variety of dry drawing media.

* What were some of your clients?

Most of my clients were medical, manufacturing, and publishing concerns. Medical clients included the American Red Cross, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Merck & Company, and American Academy of Periodontology. Some publishers I’ve done work for are DAW Books, McCrae-Smith, and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. In addition, I’ve created designs and illustrations for QVC Shopping Network, Eagle Air, and Lawrence Factor.

* I have noticed that you also have the gift of creativity, which is evident in your website, handouts in class etc. and also there is the give away that you worked in the advertising world. I believe that artistic skill and creativity are very different and a person can possess one without the other.  What are your thoughts about the two?

This is an interesting question to me, and one that confuses many. In my opinion there is a huge difference between artistry and skill. It is possible, for instance, to teach a person how to be a skillful drawer, painter, sculptor, or writer, but it is not possible to transform a person skilled in one of these areas into an artist. That is something that comes from within the individual. For instance, I’m sure you have had the experience of admiring a painting for how skillfully it was done, and yet remained unmoved by the picture. On the other hand you have probably come across a picture executed with marginal facility but one which is nonetheless exciting to look upon. In the first case the “artist” possesses mere technical facility, while in the second the artist has impregnated the picture with an individual creative vision. Naturally, those pictures that we most admire are ones done with superb technical skill and a profound creative spark.

FKAPLAN        Rider In The Dawn     Oil On Canvas   2011   24x36 

* When and why did you leave the corporate world doing illustration to pursue painting as your profession?  What was your thought process if you can remember it?  Have you always wanted to paint?

Yes, I have always wanted to paint and that is one of the main reasons I turned away from doing illustration. It simply wasn’t satisfying enough, plus the industry was being increasingly dominated by digital art, something I found alien and off-putting.

* What are the differences between illustration and painting?  Do they sometimes cross over with a small amount of difference?  I mean, sometimes a painting can look like an illustration and visa versa?    What is your opinion about the differences and similarities between the two?

The main differences between illustration and fine art is that illustrations are made to be reproduced, something that is not of great concern to a painter, and fine artists can make any kind of pictures they want while illustrators must meet the client’s requirements.

There is certainly some cross-over. It is not unusual, for instance, for a publisher or company to use a fine art painting as an illustration. In fact, many fine artists have created paintings on commission that were intended for use as illustrations. Pierre Roy is one such, as are Rene Magritte, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Philadelphian Robert Riggs. Nor is it odd for an illustrator to market his original illustrations through galleries as fine art. Frederic Remington did this, as did Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish.

As to whether a painting can look like an illustration and visa versa, that is another issue. Because of the process involved in reproducing illustrations, certain factors must be taken into consideration. For example, purples and browns are generally avoided or minimized since they are difficult to reproduce accurately. Illustrations need to be more hard-edged and have stronger contrasts than is seen in many paintings. Color in illustrations needs to be strong and vibrant because of limitations of the reproduction process, so much so that illustrators have been known to use to use day-glo fluorescent-type colors on occasion.

* Most people have this notion that to be a great artist, your need to have angst and neurosis which makes creativity possible.  What do you think about this and what is your angst if you have one, or maybe two, three or four?

My angst and neurosis is that people think I need to have angst and neuroses in order to make art.

* Some creative people are driven by something internal that they can’t seem to describe, which enables them to create and to be prolific.  What would you say drives you if you were to put it into words?

The need to eat. Salvador Dali said that art should be edible, and I agree. So I make my own food.

* This is a thoughtful question that I feel compelled to ask?  How are you inspired creatively? I mean, what does it look like or how does it take you to a creative place? How does an inspiration enter into your consciousness? Is it by thoughts, dreams, daydreams, etc?  Is it an obsession or rumination over an idea or concept? Is it that “light bulb experience? Is it by feelings? What else brings inspiration in your life in general, that transfers over to your artistic skills and your ideas?

There is no “light bulb” of inspiration, just – the words of Thomas Edison – 90% perspiration. If I sat around waiting for ideas to strike I would do nothing but sit around. I go looking for them in books, along the street, by doodling, and sometimes just by starting to paint.

* Is there anything that you would like to pursue artistically besides painting and why?

I’d like to learn to work with wood. My father was a skillful carpenter, as is my brother. Me, I just make a mess.

* Do you have any other passions that rival the drive and desire you have to paint?

Yes. Not painting; just loafing.

* How do you over come obstacles painting when you are alone in your studio, with no one to bounce an idea off of?

But there is somebody to bounce ideas off of: me.

* Do you find it difficult or how do you deal with the motivation and isolation of being in your studio all day painting?  Do you ever go “bonkers”?

Being alone makes me hungry, which motivates me to make food.

* Would you recommend painting to some one as a profession, knowing that it can be a real rollercoaster ride and success is no where near a sure bet?

Unless a person has an enormous appetite, I wouldn’t recommend art as a profession. One certainly doesn’t do it for money, since few artists ever earn enough to feed themselves decently. As to fame or celebrity: if that’s what you want, learn to sing and try out for American Idol.

* What does a successful artistic career look like to you?

It depends on what you consider success to be. To me it means making ever better pictures, some of them hopefully being compelling enough to attract the attention of at least a small public. The height of success, I suppose, is to be picked up by a premier gallery or see one’s work displayed in a major museum.

* I have found that a lot of painters and artists have a nagging sense of insecurity or doubt in their skills, do you think this is true and why? Also, do you think one needs to be eccentric to be a successful artist?  Do you think of yourself as eccentric?

This is really two questions.

All artists have doubts about their work. If they didn’t there would be no reason to strive to improve it, and that spells death for an artist, death for progress. To endure those insecurities I think that one has to, indeed, be eccentric.

FKAPLAN     Dark Energy                 Oil On Canvas     2011   20x24

That wraps it up for this PART ONE of this interview.  I hope you found Fred's perspective on art and creativity interesting and enjoyable?  Check back next week to follow along with PART TWO where Fred talks about teaching, saving his studio and most important, his work as a painter. 

Please leave a comment if you would like to and pass along this blog interview to friends.  Also, don't forget to take a peek at Fred's recent work on his website www.kaplanpicturemaker.com.  It is also full of information for artists on materials and advice.  

Thanks a whole bunch for coming to my blog.

Cheers,

Loren