How to become a famous artist

A while ago I read the book Lives of the Great 20th Century Artists, in order to figure out how artists become famous. I did an extensive analysis, and it appears that what happens is that the artist initially works in obscurity, undifferentiated from other artists. He then receives a major "validation" from the art world which sets him up for life. So, based on the lives of th artists in this book, here's how you too can become a rich, well-known artist:

be selected by an influential gallery or exhibition

be written about in the press - reviews, etc.

have your art purchased by a "major" collector or museum

be associated with another famous artist

Materials

I thought people might want to know what materials I use.

oil paint - Maimeri Puro

acrylic paint - Liquitex Medium Viscosity

panels - Ampersand gessobord

Shirt painting is up

Yep. You may want to take a few moments to prepare yourself for the emotional impact of my artistic virtuosity.
shirt painting

Latest painting is done (or is it?)

I think I'm done my latest painting. But how do you know when you're done painting something? I used to really struggle with this and was never really confident in my decisions. Lately I started using a strategy where I find a photo of a similar painting, and when my painting looks like the photo, I stop.

Basquiat

I have seen the movie Basquiat several times over the years. It's sort of an artist's fantasy in which you are picked from obscurity by an art-world figure, and reach success and fame to such a level that a drawing you do on a napkin sells for $2000.

Quality or quantity?

The book Art and Fear talks about whether it's better to focus on making a few artworks as well as possible (quality), or to focus on simply making as much art as possible (quantity). The book recommends quantity, and I agree. I try to simply get as many paintings out into the world as possible. The way I see it, the more paintings, the more chances for success.

Entertainer

Yesterday, I saw painter Robert Ryman on the TV show Art in the 21st Century. He said that he refuses to be "an entertainer" (trying to give people what they want). He said that he instead does what he wants and lets people "come to him". Interesting approach. It seems like it may have been successful - he is considered one of the most significant artists of the 20th Century, at least according to The 20th Century Art Book.

By the way, below is one of his paintings. Yes, it's a canvas painted entirely white.

Latest painting almost done

I'm basically done my painting of a shirt. It didn't end up exactly as I intended - I wanted it to be smooth, but the grain of the canvas is still visible. I painted 3 layers/coats, which is about what I usually do.
I will take a picture of the painting shortly, make any improvements, and then put the pic on my web site.

Colors book

I recently finished reading the book Color: A Natural History of the Palette, which I was fortunate to find at a used book sale for $1. It was interesting - it talks about the history of various pigments /colors.

The viewer

On an artist message board a while back, someone asked if we consider the eventual viewer when we are creating our art. A number of artists responded to the question. They all basically said variations of, "I make art for me and me alone. Screw the stupid viewers." I was the only responder who said he thought about the viewer when creating art. I mentioned how I constantly think about what the viewer is going to think, what the painting will remind him of, if he will understand what I am trying to communicate, etc.
I'm not sure if my being so concerned with the viewer is "good" or "bad".

"You cheated!"

A couple of days ago I talked about how people sometimes compliment me about how accurate my paintings look. Another interesting occurance is how these people respond after finding out that I use an opaque projector. They often remark that I "cheated", and seem like they feel "lied to".
This again goes back to what I was saying about how some people see art as simply a contest of getting it to look at much like the subject as possible, without, of course, "cheating."

"Wow that looks like a photo!"

Occasionally, well-meaning people compliment my paintings by saying how real or "accurate" they look. It's interesting to me that "accuracy" is how many people gauge the quality of art.

In the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Betty Edwards talks about how children initally love drawing, but then become frustrated because they are unable to "make it look real", and give up on drawing.

When I'm working on a painting I frequently find myself trying to make it look as totally accurate as possible. Is art really about duplicating reality as perfectly as you can? It is true that I will get admiration from a certain type of person if the painting looks like a photo...

“Nobody knows nothing”

“Nobody knows nothing” is a statemement made by screenwriter William Goldman about the movie business. He meant that even after making movies for over 100 years, no one actually knows exactly how to make a successful movie.
This is actually how I am with my paintings. I don't know how to sit down and make a "hit" painting. Some paintings I thought were boring end up being popular, and some paintings I thought were profound and dramatic end up being ignored.

Painting is like building models

Did you ever build models when you were a kid? That is what painting for me is like for me. Most of the fun is in the actual putting together; I don't really get a thrill from looking at my completed paintings.

Books

I just finished reading 2 used art books:

The Painter's Problem Book: 20 Problem Subjects and How to Paint Them

Light for the Artist



They were OK. Not to sound arrogant, but they didn't teach me anything I didn't already know!

Shirt painting started

I officially started work on my next painting last night. I have been impatient with waiting for each layer of oil paint to dry, so I bought a great clip-on work lamp last nite at Home Depot to speed up the drying. It pumps out 300 watts of incandescent light/heat, which I direct at the painting.

More painting practice

I finished painting the small painting below as practice for a larger version which will be my next painting.

I bought a 12x16 canvas last nite & I am now ready to start.

Art Basel Miami

I was thinking about going to Art Basel Miami this December. It's a huge annual art expo. To help me make the decision, I ordered the book of last year's show. After reading through it, I decided not to go. It looks like it's basically just a collection of galleries selling random paintings.