Great minds think alike. I just read Joanne Mattera's latest "Marketing Mondays" post ("Do It Yourself") and was very happy to see some the same thoughts that I've been having recently validated on her blog. The post is all about taking the DIY approach to getting the things you want to have happen with your work and art career: do your own solo shows, curate exhibitions online or in physical space, publish your own monograph, and the one that spoke the most to me at this time, create your own art residency, like sculptor Laura Moriarty did.
This past Sunday night, I was looking around the web for artist residency opportunities and kept coming up against time constraints and monetary obligations. I continued mulling over residency ideas long after I should have been asleep and slowly came around to the idea that I could create a residency in my own studio! I honestly don't know what took me so long to come up with this idea for myself, but I'm glad that I did.
So far, I've come up with a time frame of roughly two weeks full time (at least 8 hours per day in the studio) to be done in either March or April 2012. There are details to deal with, but, yeah, I think that this will be a good thing to do.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
New BMG website
My Philadelphia gallery rep, Bridgette Mayer, has just debuted the gallery's new website. It has taken a while to get together, but is very nice and has a bunch of new features. Check it out : Bridgette Mayer Gallery
One of the new things to check out is this "studio visit" video featuring me going on about some stuff that I do: Tim McFarlane, Studio Visit, 2011
One of the new things to check out is this "studio visit" video featuring me going on about some stuff that I do: Tim McFarlane, Studio Visit, 2011
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Digital musings
ecp 120511.1 (digital drawing)
ecp 120111.2 (digital drawing)
ecp 120711.2 (digital drawing)
Three drawings from an on-going series that I am developing paintings from. The titles reflect the file name in Photoshop, the date, and the order in which the drawing was done on that day.
I'm on my computer a lot when I'm home and, of course, I get flashes of ideas that I want to explore. So, in addition to writing or sketching in my physical journals, from time-to-time I will also tap into available tech to experiment with. My habit has been to use Photoshop mainly for photo-editing. I rarely get the urge to see what else I might want to do with it, preferring to pursue my main painting and drawing explorations in the studio.
One thing that I forget from time-to-time is that my studio is always with me 24-7 in my mind. Making art is as much a state of mind as it is physical. Like the saying goes, "Wherever you go, there you are", so wherever you are, so is your art. When I can't physically be in the studio (working, traveling, sick, whatever...) I'm continually turning creative thoughts over in my head. If I have been working on a painting, you can bet that before my next session in the studio I will have gone through several versions of it in my head. The painting will still turn out differently than anything I might think of, but engaging in that on-going thought process is always rewarding.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Onward
All suited up and ready for the "winter sessions" in the studio. I'm looking forward to exploring a lot of new ideas and sending new works out into the world in the coming year. No resolutions needed, just continuing to work and keep the creative fires burning as bright and hot as I can.
All the best for a great, productive, inspiring 2012, no matter what you do.
Happy New Year!
-Tim
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Art: the mourning after
"Art is for the living. If someone has lived creatively and you are grateful, for goodness sake, write them a letter, or create a website about them; get an article about them published if you have the opportunity, or if you are an editor, commission tributes while she or he can read them. What is the point of making a fuss when they are gone? It is morbid and to me it seems inauthentic...Instead of lamenting the lost, we should be celebrating their achievements, and saying thank you, while they are still among us. So stop this saccharine artistic morbidity. Instead, pick your favourite living creative artist – and write them a fan letter."
-Jonathan Jones, The Guardian, UK
Full blog post here: "The mourning after: why we should celebrate artists while they are alive"
In his latest blog post, The Guardian's Jonathan Jones writes about the loss of Cy Twombly, Lucien Freud, and Ken Russell. His overall point being that the rush of the arts media to heap praise and tributes on the recently departed artists comes too late. Now, the people Jones mentions were hardly unknown and did live to see their work exhibited or seen by wide audiences. I think that it's the lesser-known people who should have a chance to have an encouraging note or two, especially from people that they don't know and may never meet.
I come across a lot of images of artwork on the web and when something strikes me in a particular way, be it art, design, photography, or music, I'll often find a way to let the artist know how I feel about their work, mostly via email and sometimes by posting about their work either on this blog or elsewhere.
I don't do this to "network" or to gain some other in-kind favor or notice, I do it because something about their work grabbed me. I do so for the same reason that Jonathan Jones mentions in his blog post for the Guardian; that we should celebrate artistic achievements while artists are alive and can appreciate the thoughts and accolades from peers and others.
-Jonathan Jones, The Guardian, UK
Full blog post here: "The mourning after: why we should celebrate artists while they are alive"
In his latest blog post, The Guardian's Jonathan Jones writes about the loss of Cy Twombly, Lucien Freud, and Ken Russell. His overall point being that the rush of the arts media to heap praise and tributes on the recently departed artists comes too late. Now, the people Jones mentions were hardly unknown and did live to see their work exhibited or seen by wide audiences. I think that it's the lesser-known people who should have a chance to have an encouraging note or two, especially from people that they don't know and may never meet.
I come across a lot of images of artwork on the web and when something strikes me in a particular way, be it art, design, photography, or music, I'll often find a way to let the artist know how I feel about their work, mostly via email and sometimes by posting about their work either on this blog or elsewhere.
I don't do this to "network" or to gain some other in-kind favor or notice, I do it because something about their work grabbed me. I do so for the same reason that Jonathan Jones mentions in his blog post for the Guardian; that we should celebrate artistic achievements while artists are alive and can appreciate the thoughts and accolades from peers and others.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The art of time/the art of lithography
"The Art of Time" is a documentary about Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Inc, founded in Los Angeles in 1960 by the late June Wayne (1918-1911) to prevent the demise of lithography. "The Art of Time" (top) focuses on the more emotional aspects of lithography, while "The Art of Lithography"(bottom), a slightly different cut, focuses on the more technical aspects of lithography. "The Art of Time" and "The Art of Lithography" were directed by Marina Chamrad.
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