Sunday, August 27, 2023
Social media slippage
Friday, August 18, 2023
Out of a hole
Thursday, August 17, 2023
Slow
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Enter the void(s)
Going into the void(s). I'm about to break out the old goth clothes, paint the walls black and throw on some Bauhaus for good measure, haha! Ok, so the most I'll probably do is listen to some Bauhaus since it's been a moment. These are actually just the starting point for new paintings. The reason I'm giving this any special attention is that I almost NEVER start a painting with a dark background; I've insisted on beginning almost every work with a white or light background. It's mostly out of habit, really. I generally like lighter backgrounds because of how they can affect the subsequent layers. I start off thinking about light and transparency in the colors, however, considering that there is an overall opaqueness by the time I'm done, it almost never makes that much of a difference.
Sunday, August 13, 2023
Too much? Not enough?
Saturday, August 12, 2023
Music in the air
Thursday, August 10, 2023
New wanderings (isn't this a given, now?)
Saturday, August 05, 2023
Vacation sketchbook
Saturday, July 08, 2023
Piles
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Need any help?
This afternoon, I was walking back to the studio from grabbing a couple of snacks. The side of the street I was on has a huge lot of newly built homes set way back from the street. Closer to the street, the lot is mostly rubble and could be another section of the development waiting to happen. Towards the northern end of the lot, there was a guy dumpster diving, pulling stuff out of the construction dumpster and loading up his pick-up truck. He saw me as I was about to pass and, out of the blue, said that he’d just pulled a chunk of an I-beam out from the bottom of the container. I looked over and could see it resting on the far top corner of the dumpster. He was carrying a long pipe in one hand and something else in the other as he worked his way through the fence opening.
I asked if he needed help and he said, “Nah, I’m alright, did three tours in Iraq”. I started walking away and said back to him, “That’s great, but it doesn’t mean you won’t need help” and thanked him for his service. My ‘help’ comment was meant to hopefully spark the thought in his mind that accepting help was ok. This was a little presumptuous on my part, I'm aware of that, but his retort about his tours of duty in Iraq brought to mind all of the times I’ve heard men say something similar before going on to struggle with whatever task was at hand. There are so many reasons why people might reject help, and to each their own. I was just struck by this man's Iraq comment because I've heard that sentiment many times over the years.
His comment seemed to be another perfect example of how men appear to be hard-wired to not accept help. A lot of this may be centered in pride and ego, wanting to project strength and individualism. Now, he may or may not have had a problem getting that piece of I-beam to his truck, but his comment about Iraq appeared to me to be a kind of defense mechanism. I’ve heard guys say things like this all of my life. Even going back to childhood, there was always a man around, perhaps struggling to carry something or do some difficult task who turns down help by saying something about some past or present personal achievement of strength or endurance, usually followed by, “If I could handle that, I can do this (alone), too”. My dad was the same way, even as he was breathless and struggling to finish up whatever he was working on. And that’s great! If you can still call on your reserves of individual strength, that’s fine. Although, to me, this mindset seems like a self-imposed barrier to appearing to be vulnerable and needing help which translates to “weak” for so many men.
I’m no stranger to this way of thinking. As an only child, I always felt that I had to do for myself before getting anyone else involved. Not in the sense of being afraid of needing help, but because of my upbringing with alcoholic parents. I often felt the need to take care of a lot of things alone, not having the security of knowing that there was someone there to help me in whatever way(s) I needed. This has affected how I process situations where I might need assistance as an adult. Many times, I don’t even know the right questions to ask and have to sit with that discomfort and figure out exactly what it is that I’m after by asking for help. I’m working on it, as with a lot of things. As for the guy and his piece of I-beam, I hope he managed to get it to his truck or was ok with leaving it.
TM
Sunday, June 25, 2023
All day, all PAFA
Earlier this year, I was invited to be a visiting artist at PAFA, thanks to the Visiting Artist Program and committee. Last Wednesday (6.21.23), I found myself with a full crit schedule in the afternoon and hour long talk that started at 5pm. I had a great time meeting and talking with the students in the Low Residency MFA program there, where students work at the school in the summer and work virtually for the rest of the year. In my email communications with Jazlyne Sabree, who was heading the VAP committee, a couple of days before my visit, the list of students who signed up for critiques with me started with about four. By the time I arrived at the school, the last slot had filled, which meant that I did back to back 30 minute crits all afternoon, from 12pm-4:30pm with a half-hour break before my talk at 5.
The packed schedule energized me more than I realized. I really enjoyed speaking with the students and engaging with them about their work. There were a wide range of interests, all 2-D based, but very different approaches to materials and subject matter. Most of the students were in their 30s and above and most had been making art for a number of years, already. One student came to art from a background in law and an additional non-art related career. They all were passionate about what they were doing and all trying to figure out how to keep moving forward with their creative interests. My approach to the crits was to meet them where they are and figure out how I might be able to help them along their journey. They all were really motivated and thirty minutes wasn't quite enough time to dive deep into their practices, but that constraint forced me to be as efficient as possible with my comments. Most of those conversations could have easily gone on for an hour or more.
I'm honored that so many students signed up to have crits with me and I hope they all got something valuable out of our time together. I enjoy talking with students about their work because I feel like there's always something that I can pass on to them, regardless of the type of work that they are pursuing. I have over 40 years of experience in making art of some kind and I feel that it's necessary to pass on some of that knowledge so that someone can possibly benefit from it. I tend to shy away from traditional classroom teaching, preferring other ways of engaging with younger artists, like these visiting artist critiques and talks. I think that it's vital for artists to be open and willing to share their knowledge with others.
The talk almost didn't happen, haha! I had my presentation on my laptop and on a thumb drive, both of which I took with me. The only issue was that I 'thought' that I'd exported the images as Powerpoint files (from the Keynote files on my Mac laptop), but hadn't and the school's tech is Microsoft based. Anyway, near panic ensues as the tech person went to the library to see if they had a Mac that they could use. However, William Lawler, one of the students that was helping me out suggested that I try to export the file again and this time, it worked, and just in time.
This was the first in person artist talk that I'd given since before the pandemic in 2020. A couple of weeks prior, i'd been part of a panel discussion, but that was different. Here, it was just me presenting my work and ideas to an audience. In short, I'm told that the talk was good. From my end, there were a few points that I meant to make, but somehow managed to gloss over because of a small amount of nervousness in worrying about time (roughly 45 minutes for the talk and the rest given over to audience questions) and making sure I was clear in my delivery. I feel like there's room for improvement, but enjoyed the opportunity and am open to doing more in the near future. My talk will probably available on PAFA's website soon. I may hold off on watching it, but will get to it eventually.
TM
Sunday, May 28, 2023
Residue and all
New Artist discovery: T.J. Ly-Donovan
As most who might be reading this now, Instagram is a treasure trove of artists. I'm finding out about new-to-me artists all of the time and thought it might be good to share them here, as well. First up is someone I just found out about today named T.J. Ly-Donovan. I couldn't find much about them online, so here is their IG account link: T.J. Ly-Donovan on Instagram
T.J. Ty-Donovan's work is very material based and lives in that space between painting and sculpture. Craft foam, board, oil paint and various materials make up their unique wall-based pieces. Ly-Donovan doesn't seem to have a website, but if I come across any more information, I'll post it here.
TM
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Artist & Place podcast: Time and the Cracks Between Things
About a month ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with artist Kim Carlino in my studio for a lively conversation about art, life, the role that place and landscape plays in the creative journey, and more for her podcast, Artist & Place. One thing that I've learned from listening to this episode is that I can talk a LOT. I don't always like hearing myself when playing back interviews, but I'm getting better about it. I listened to this one all the way through on the first day that it came out, now that's progress!
You can listen to the podcast on most platforms, including Spotify, Apple and others. Here's the link and thanks for listening: Tim McFarlane: Time and the Cracks Between Things
Friday, March 24, 2023
3.24.23.1
Got to the studio around 10am this morning which, for me, is great. On average, I'm here much closer to 11 and after, so this is a good development. I've been trying to arrive here earlier in the mornings, but I tend to stay up too late and haven't been good about breaking that habit. Anyway, I'm here now and that's all that really matters.
I was on the bus and remembered that I wanted to stop and buy a couple of things to use for drawings, but realized it too late when I was on the bus. I was going to stop by Artist & Craftsman Supply at 3rd and Market and since they were close to opening, I may have been able to get in early. I might make a trip there later, anyway. I really don't *need* to go today, it can probably wait until tomorrow. The thing is, I have this idea locked in my head and have that urge to go and buy the things I want now, as opposed to waiting. Let's see how the rest of the morning goes.
TM
Thursday, February 23, 2023
The art life is not a luxury
“Art is not a luxury”: a phrase that I once saw on a bumper sticker a long time ago and that I used as part of my “signature” on one of my old email accounts. I’ve been thinking a little lately about the word “luxury” as it’s applied to the things that artists make. In the greater public mind, art is considered a luxury commodity because of how it is portrayed in the media through the lens of commerce and capitalism. Big auction numbers of works by household names like Picasso, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, etc…are often the only connection that many people have to art. When it comes to living artists, only the most ostentatious displays or those generating controversy and public comment made are given any kind of notice, the latest being Hank Willis Thomas’ public work of an abstracted embrace of the late Martin Luther King, Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King. The work has garnered a lot of attention for how it’s perceived at certain angles; that it resembles an act and anatomical feature of a sexual nature. There are many shades of how art is perceived by the general public. My focus here is mainly on the idea that living a life where creativity is at the center of one's life and livelihood is somehow a “luxury”.
The context in which most artists might hear that they “have the luxury of being an artist” and everything that goes along with that, is usually from people whose daily work feels like anything but creative, and some artists. Most artists have had to work other jobs in order to pay bills, studio rent, have funds for materials and have the basic necessities of life. Many of us, myself included, have considered the life of being a full-time artist as being a luxury. The “luxury” of being able to do something that is self-determined. Contrast that to how most people spend their lives essentially working for someone else or a larger entity (corporation) where most of what you do is determined by someone else. Again, this is a broad stroke, as there is a huge spectrum of experiences and comfort when it comes to working for someone else. However, often in those situations, people look at the perceived life of a full time creative as being one free of the drudgery and repetition of say, certain types of office work or other regimented occupations.
While it is usually true that being an artist can be free of certain regimented time and restrictions inherent in everyday work life, it too, has it’s routines and necessities that require us to pay heed to things that we often find laborious and tedious. The need to write artist statements, statements for grant applications, the ongoing search for opportunities to show one’s work, researching materials, keeping good records of sales and expenses, budgeting, finding supplemental income when art sales are slow, actually making the work and the list goes on. The day-to-day life of artists is very much like other occupations, it’s just perceived through a lens of being different, somehow, which it is, but not for the way that so many like to think it is. Creatively centered lives are seen as luxuries in the U.S. because the perception is that creativity and art are things outside of ordinary life, and it has become like that over time as art has become a specialization and not as much a part of everyday life as it once was. Eventually, there came to be certain people in a village or town who were specialists; the shoe maker, the weaver, the furniture maker. Once machinery and specialized businesses took over many of the tasks of making most household items, including parts for houses themselves, art and craft became further specialized in life and education. Art is now mostly considered outside of the spectrum of everyday necessities because there is no longer a need for everyone to make their own furniture, clothing and countless other things like it used to be done. Art now is largely considered outside the scope of everyday life and experience, even though that’s not true at all.
Art is taught as its own specialty and artists are now deemed specialists when it comes to creativity, in general. Need a poster for the school play? Get Mr. Smith’s art class to make one. Need some graphics for a new merchandising campaign? Let’s get the design department on it. Want a painting of your grandmother in her garden? Let’s talk to Susan down the street, she’s an artist and on and on. This isn’t the worst thing, however, my point is that we as artists should abolish the idea that our time spent making whatever we make is somehow a luxury. I’ve had this same mentality going back years. Almost any time I’ve talked to someone about what I do, I’ve always said that whatever time I’ve had in the studio is a luxury. It really isn’t because what I and countless others do is absolutely necessary, whether the larger society deems it so or not. What I’m arguing for is for artists to abandon the dominant way of thinking about our work time as something that’s on the fringes of existence. No, we aren’t “lucky to have the luxury of making art”, we’re people who are doing the job of creating culture. There’s nothing luxurious about it, It takes a ton of hard work, patience, nerve, grit and more hard work to do what we do and luxury has nothing to do with it.