Pearls from artists* # 721
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
Creativity is one of the survival mechanisms of our collective souls. I refuse to believe that our story will end with capitalism and cynicism snuffing out the magnanimous artistic impulse that has been with us since the beginning of recorded history. Never forget that we have the power to shape the art world we want. Whatever we click on, talk about, and share is what will grow in importance. Ignore empty, formulaic work and art market hype. Share the work of artists we admire. Discuss the value of art only in terms of its intrinsic qualities. Decide that we will only give our attention to what we wish to see more of.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
Comments are welcome!
Q: Do you have a favorite art book, one you return to again and again? (Question from “Pastel, Passion, and Perseverance: An Interview with Barbara Rachko” in .ART Odyssey: Healing)
A: When she’s not in the studio, Barbara often begins her mornings with reading. Right now, she can’t get enough of Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice. “This is a fabulous book for visual artists. It’s become my current art bible. It reminds me why I decided to make art in the first place and what I need to do to continue to improve. It helps me reconnect with forgotten parts of myself and is a much-needed reminder of what l love most about being an artist.”
Comments are welcome!
Pearls from artists* # 720
“Gatecrasher” (in progress), soft pastel on sandpaper, 58” x 38”
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on
An artist without a vision is like an individual programmed just to live, breathe fresh air, eat, and then move on. It is that important vision that we see with our mind’s eye and believe in that society cannot live without. The artist with foresight is the one who is responsible for making it possible. Vision encourages us to pursue art and it gives us reasons to live a purposeful life. But without a conscious effort to maintain and focus our vision, some unimportant thing can sway us from our path and persuade the artist to become something else. And without technical skills to clarify what we think is purposeful and meaningful, the artist can be misunderstood.
Samuel Adoquei in Origin of Inspiration: Seven Short Essays for Creative People
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Q: Last year you were in Paris and saw the David Hockney retrospective. What struck you the most? (Question from “Pastel, Passion, and Perseverance: An Interview with Barbara Rachko” in .ART Odyssey: Healing)
Giverny by DH, 2023, in David Hockney 25, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
A: It was spectacular! I spent three and a half hours there, which I never do—usually two is my limit. I had known his LA work, but I wasn’t aware of so much else, including the Normandy pieces. And yes, the iPad drawings impressed me. I like that he keeps evolving, trying new tools, staying current. At his age that’s remarkable. As someone who has focused on one medium my whole life, I admire artists who reinvent themselves again and again.
Comments are welcome!
Pearls from artists* # 719
With “Magisterial,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 70” x 50” framed
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on
The secret of success is to find out what your talent is for and then seek to develop the technical abilities you will need to assist you in acquiring the necessary skills. It is here that the secret of success or the forming of great achievements lies for every noble artist, no matter what their medium is. Passion and inspiration will come automatically to assist your noble vision when you broaden your experience and knowledge to become an expert in your particular field, thus helping to improve the lives of mankind. Believing that what you are creating will bring advancement to man’s life will also follow as will hopefulness for the future. Those who benefit from your service, directly or indirectly, will reward you for that which your rare talent has produced and for improving their lives while contributing to the advancement of mankind.
Samuel Adoquei in Origin of Inspiration: Seven Short Essays for Creative People
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Travel photo of the month*
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
*favorite travel photos that have not yet appeared in this blog
My travel companions had the brilliant idea to blindfold me so my first sight of the spectacular Uyuni salt flats could be caught on film. The second photo is what I saw!
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Pearls from artists* # 718
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
Do the work of your earnest heart, with all your body and soul, for as long as you breathe and with as much craft as you can wring from your every filament, and you will have made art. Your art.
Sally Man in Art Work: On the Creative Life
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Q: What’s on the easel today?
Pastel painting in progress
A: I’m slowly working on an untitled, large, 58” x 38,” “Bolivianos” pastel painting based on a reference photo taken in La Paz in February. This one is number thirty-six in the series.
Comments are welcome!
Pearls from artists* # 717
In the 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
Go slowly. Success is a kind of energy field. You vibrate in it like a charged particle. There are new demands on your tine and talents, new interview requests and business questions, new possibilities and opportunities. In this context, when you have a free half-hour you may continue spinning like a top. Walk, breathe, stretch, meditate. Do the mundane: scrape a carrot, sweep the patio. Calm down.
Manage your money. You may or may not have paydays like this again. Study a book on money management. Learn your options. Think before you have a full-time personal trainer or buy Adar that corners too tightly at 100 miles an hour. Think before you find yourself in the position of needing to earn half a million a year in order to cover expenses and feed your vast retinue.
Protect your privacy. Begin to calculate how public and accessible you want to be. Learn how not to give yourself away. Be able to say “Thank you” and “I don’t have an answer for that question.” Have an interview persona and a public persona. At the same time be able to access your humanity.
Manage your anxiety. New stresses exist in your life. More is expected of you. The ante on each project rises. Success is not a magic pill that allays anxieties.
Expect setbacks. The next book you write after your bestseller may disappoint you, your publisher, or your readers. The movie you directed after your blockbuster May bomb. But even if your stock is lowered in the eyes of the world, it need not sink in your own eyes. Virtually no artist experiences one success after another. Determine to come back. If doors have closed to you, consult your business adviser. Plan and analyze ways to reopen them. Demonstrate your courage all over again.
Remain human. Guard your privacy and your person; decline to become a stereotype or a frozen icon. Be more than the bad-boy rock singer, the sex goddess, the reclusive dancer, the brilliant violin virtuoso. Remember that you have a heart and mind as well as a reputation.
Eric Maisel in A Life in the Arts: An Expanded Workbook Edition of Staying Sane in the Arts
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Q: You once faced a major creative block. How did you break through it? (Question from “Pastel, Passion, and Perseverance: An Interview with Barbara Rachko” in .ART Odyssey: Healing)
A: That was in 2007, after I finished my Domestic Threats series. The last painting in that series hardly interested me. I was wringing my hands, thinking, “I’m a full-time artist not making art —what do I do NOW?” It was frightening. At the time, I was also taking a jazz history class at Lincoln Center. One day the instructor spoke about Miles Davis.
He explained how Davis moved away from bebop —where musicians packed in as many notes as possible to show off—to cool jazz, where every note carried weight.
And something clicked. I realized I’d been working like bebop: showing off meticulous detail, every stitch of fabric, every grain in a wooden floor.
That revelation was my way forward. I stripped everything back. No more domestic backdrops. Just the figures, placed against solid black. Only what mattered. That was the beginning of my Black Paintings.
The block that had haunted me for months lifted in an instant, because I’d found a new way to speak. I realized the black background represented the dark place I had emerged from; the vibrant figures symbolized resilience and life.
It was like a lightbulb going off.
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