Pearls from artists* # 689
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
This is what I wish someone had told me years ago:
The art world is not a meritocracy. Like the world at large, it is a system based on hoarded capital and exploited labor. This system owes you nothing, even if you have extraordinary talent, work tremendously hard, never give up, and do all the right things. There are no ‘extra points’ for effort, earnestness, dedication, or sacrifice.
(We ALL think WE are going to be the exception.)
Unless you have fantastic connections or pedigree, after you build and maintain the basics of making strong work and getting the word out, a great deal depends on luck. Many of the artists you admire are likely living difficult lives you might not be willing to live, making sacrifices you might not be willing to make. Many who appear to support themselves with their work are in fact, partially or fully supported by spouses, family money, or jobs they do not discuss. They keep these jobs secret because some art world players refuse to validate your work if you are not ‘seriously committed’ enough to be a full-time artist. (Of course, artists who were not born wealthy need validation from these very players to be ABLE to create full-time.)
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
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Q: Over your 40-year career as an artist, you have managed to keep presentation, technical, subject matter, conceptual consistencies in your art practice and work. How do you manage to filter out inspirations that might be luring at that moment but do not support your art practice? For example, you master pastel works. There must have been moments when you might have been inspired to make oil works. How do you keep such inspirations aside. (Question from Vedica Art Studios and Gallery)
A: About thirty-five years ago, when my pastel paintings were becoming larger—around 60” x 40”—I had to choose between transitioning to oil on canvas or continuing with pastel. Framing was the main concern. I wasn’t certain large pastels could be framed, and even if they could, the cost might be prohibitive. However, I had already fallen in love with pastel and knew no other medium could offer such vibrant colors or velvety textures. Determined, I resolved the framing issue (art-making is fundamentally problem-solving), committed myself fully to soft pastel, and have continued inventing and refining techniques ever since.
My goal from the beginning has always been improvement as an artist. If an activity doesn’t contribute to my growth—as a person or as an artist—I typically don’t pursue it. Time and energy are finite resources, so I try to use them wisely.
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Pearls from artists* # 688
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
Many artists see their studio practice as a religion. Like any other faith, it has rituals, beliefs, devotions, visionaries, martyrs, and even miracles. Our souls have a need to position themselves in the giant scheme of the universe, and art, like spiritual conviction, helps us do that. It allows us to decipher and process the complexities of the world around us. It can make us better humans by telling stories and sharing points of view that stoke compassion, understanding, and empathy. It holds the potential to redeem both the maker and the viewer, transcending quotidian dullness by evoking a deep significance we had forgotten.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
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Travel photo of the month*
*favorite travel photos that have not yet appeared in this blog
Sucre, Bolivia
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Pearls from artists* # 687
Barbara’s Studio
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
PC: Talking about sales, when it comes down to it, don’t you find that most of the time, the true art lovers, the disinterested amateurs, are the ones who can’t afford to buy?
HM: Yes, the man who buys, buys for speculative reasons, and after a year or two says to himself – what’s my painting worth? – he wants to cash in. But who knows whether a picture can be sold profitably at any given point? I have friends who begrudged me the fact that I persuaded them to buy a beautiful painting.
Henri Matisse in Chatting With Matisse: The Lost 1941 Interview, Henri Matisse with Pierre Courthion, edited by Serge Guilbault
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Q: You’re also known for being remarkably consistent with your blog and writing. How do you keep that rhythm? (Question from “Pastel, Passion, and Perseverance: An Interview with Barbara Rachko” in .ART Odyssey: Healing)
A page from the interview
A: It’s become habit. I started in 2012 and now I post twice a week.
On Wednesdays, I quote from a book I’m reading, paired with a photo. On Saturdays, I rotate: one week “What’s on the Easel,” another a travel photo, and twice a month a short reflection. Only two posts a month require real writing, so it’s sustainable. Consistency has been everything.
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Pearls from artists* # 686
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
HM: I’ve never met many people; I’ve never much sought out older painters, first because I didn’t want to disturb them and then because what an artist says is so insignificant, I find, compared to what he does. The same phrases can so easily fit different things when you’re talking about the visual arts.
You can’t describe them. All you can do is create a kind of analogy using words. But even then the words have to reach the same part of the spectator that’s ready and waiting for them.
Henri Matisse in Chatting With Matisse: The Lost 1941 Interview, Henri Matisse with Pierre Courthion, edited by Serge Guilbault
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Q: You read books on Friedrich Nietzsche and other philosophers. How has philosophy and your personal experience shaped the latest series, Bolivianos? (Question from Vedica Art Studios and Gallery)
A: It’s difficult to pinpoint how philosophy specifically shaped my work because my curiosity spans so many subjects. Some critics have described me as a Renaissance woman, remarking on my wide-ranging and voracious reading. It’s true—I’m genuinely interested in practically everything!
In pursuit of making art, I have undertaken in-depth studies of numerous intriguing fields: drawing, color, composition, gross anatomy, art and art history, the art business, film history, photography, psychology, mythology, literature, philosophy, religion, music, jazz history, and archaeology—particularly ancient Mesoamerica (Olmec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Aztec, and Maya) and South America (the Inca and their ancestors).
Since the early 1990s, my inspiration and subject matter have come primarily from international travel to remote parts of the globe, especially Mexico, Central America, and South America. Travel is by far the best education! By visiting distant destinations, I have developed a deep reverence for people and cultures around the world. People everywhere are connected by our shared humanity.
These travels, supplemented by extensive research at home, are essential parts of my creative process. Research can be solitary and demanding, but I truly enjoy it. I want to know as much as possible, and this curiosity generates ideas for new work, propelling me into unexplored creative realms.
Foreign travel always expands our ways of thinking. This rich mixture of creative influences continually evolves and finds its way into my pastel paintings. Working, learning, evolving, and growing—I am perpetually curious and can hardly imagine a better way to spend my time on Earth!
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Pearls from artists* # 685
Another of my favorite books!
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
HM: The great benefit I took from visits with Renoir was realizing that even after a long working life, an artist’s curiosity could remain unquenched. The hope of some further progress, something to be added to his œuvre, was what kept Renoir alive. He was painting a “bathing” picture (now, finally, in the Musée du Louvre) and doing it with some difficulty because the picture was quite big and Renoir’s hands weren’t very nimble. But it’s only now, when I think about it, that I realize he must have found it hard; it would never occur to you when you saw him at his canvas – there was such intellectual urgency about everything he did.
Another big lesson I learned from visiting Renoir was that this man, riddled with pain and infirmity – his legs were so stiff he couldn’t walk a single step – could still be happy working and talking about his work. When you were with him for a while and he’d warmed to the conversation, you hadn’t the least sense that you were talking to an old man; his eyes were so full of life and intelligence that you forgot his age.
Henri Matisse in Chatting With Matisse: The Lost 1941 Interview, Henri Matisse with Pierre Courthion, edited by Serge Guilbault
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barbararachkoscoloreddust.com 
Q: What kind of internal conversations do you tend to have when you are in the process of making art? (Question from Vedica Art Studios and Gallery)
Jan 10
Posted by barbararachkoscoloreddust
A: When standing at my easel creating a pastel painting, I focus on formal properties: composition, shape, color, and line. I always strive to produce a painting I’ve never seen before. Even as (perhaps especially as) the creator, I want to be surprised by the final result. My studio days are spent thinking, looking, reacting, and adjusting colors and composition as I refine increasingly tiny details, ensuring all elements work harmoniously. I determine which areas need to recede or advance, which require intricate details to appear three-dimensional, and which are better left as flat areas of color.
These countless adjustments ensure viewers’ eyes are guided around the finished painting in intriguing ways. I often recall something collectors of my pastel paintings shared: they mentioned a New York Times review of a Nan Goldin exhibition, in which the writer stated, “All of the pleasure circuits are fired in looking.” The collectors agreed this is exactly how they feel when viewing my work. Artists live for appreciative comments like these!
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Posted in 2026, An Artist's Life, Creative Process, Studio, Working methods
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