I read a comment by Michael Mentler (an artist whom I admire) and I came away with some interesting questions in my mind. He mentioned that you should keep your good paintings and destroy your bad ones. I found myself wondering, would I do that? I have been painting for a few years now - not full time. I have a job that doesn't include my painting, which obviously takes up some of my time, and I guess maybe some of my paintings are just for myself. Should I bother destroying these, or should I share them? I guess that remains to be seen. One painting in particular comes to mind. It is a painting that was painted soon after my last grandchild was born. He was beautiful, not like the average beautiful baby that is born. He was trizome-13 and only lived 36 hours, but they were an amazing 36 hours. A few months later, at Christmas time Matt's brother asked God, since he couldn't have his brother Matt there for Christmas, could he please have snow instead. And so it snowed for Christmas. Matt's brother lives in an area that seldom, but sometimes gets snow, and usually not for Christmas. Should I destroy the painting? I doubt that I would give it any awards in a contest. I also doubt that I will ever bother to destroy it.
I guess part of this reflection ties in with the recent death of my uncle. He lead a good and fulfilling life. He was 86 and left behind a great legacy - wife, kids and grandkids. The weekend was a time of letting go of him and celebrating his new life with his maker. It was also a marvelous opportunity to reconnect with family members, some of whom we played with as kids. All in all, it was a great weekend. One of my cousins opened his home up to us, and it was lovely. He and his wife have beautiful artwork. I loved every piece that I saw.
And so I guess I am left with the age-old question - what is good art?
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| It Snowed for Christmas |
It Snowed for Christmas
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