Holiday Inspiration

It seems like after the first snowfall, the landscape takes on a very whimsical nature.  Around the holidays, I'm inspired to paint in that same whimsical way.  The two paintings shown today are "A Dickens Christmas" and "Snowmen: Oh Holy Night."  For some reason, the holidays always inspire me to paint in a whimsical manner.  It's a nice break from abstracts, florals and landscapes, and allows me to practice different techniques.  My snowmen paintings and prints have been relatively popular.  The Christmas Critter dog painting featured on my Facebook page, has drawn a lot of attention. 

When I create a painting such as A Dickens Christmas, it's a culmination of memories from childhood and inspiration from this time of year.  All three of these images are still available for sale and are 30" x 40" oil on canvas.  I have several other snowmen paintings at The Red Geranium Framing & Gifts in Mauston, WI.  They have been a popular draw and gotten many positive comments.  In fact, the store might even display them year-round in a designated Christmas area.

Doing these types of works gives me a break from the traditional, and continues to expand my horizons.  It gives me the courage to venture into other areas with my art.  Many times I surprise myself with the ultimate outcome.  Even though these paintings are seasonal, they're available year-round.  In fact, summer is a great time to contact me about doing a holiday commissioned piece. 

From all of us at Blind Guy Studios (ha ha ha), wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a very happy 2014. 

Critique and Criticism

It's been my experience in the past, whether it be an art show that I attend, or just have my paintings featured in, that everyone has an opinion.  These opinions are something that I treasure, good, bad, or otherwise.  Ten people viewing the same piece of art see it in ten different ways.  This to me is amazing, and one of the reasons I shy away from titling or pushing too much of my interpretation into a piece.  The feedback I receive continually helps me to grow as an artist, and challenges me to find new ways to apply the oils to the canvas.  I'm continually looking for new and exciting ways of accomplishing a piece of artwork.

 I welcome criticism, constructive or not, because the opinions voiced leads me to greater expectations of myself.  One of the only ways to grow as an artist is to get your work out there.  You'll find ways to improve it, and to try new things.  Not everything works.  Not everything is perfect.  Not everything is going to be liked by everyone.  Sometimes controversy or the shock factor is what gets you  noticed.  Being legally blind and having my perspective skewed due to the lack of visual acuity, I am continually interested in how the sighted world views my art.  How they see things, though not intentional, show up in some of my work. 

In one of my past floral paintings, my mother in law swore that beneath one of the flower petals was a dwarf peering out at the viewer.  Again, this was not intentional, but if a sighted person says it's there, I'll take their word for it!  Another happy accident.

Being Interviewed

One of the most unique experiences I've had since becoming a legally blind artist has been being interviewed by TV stations and newspaper journalists.  It amazes me as to how quickly they can capture a mood and turn it into a story.  My very first television interview was a Live at Five segment by Pam Towsier of Channel 3 news at the Wisconsin Council of the Blind in Madison.  The first thing they have you do is to get into position.  Then there's a brief countdown, a huge light turns on above the camera, and the next thing you know, you're being asked questions.  It's kind of hard to keep your focus, and it almost seems surreal that your image and words are being projected out to thousands of people that very minute. 

The next experience I had was more along the lines of a documentary type taping.  This is not scripted, but you do have the ability to edit and put together pieces that flow into a complete story.  This is a more relaxed setting and to me, was most informative.  This was done by Sam Sorenson by NBC 15 while doing a "Your Stories" interview.  This showed me painting, a brief interview in my living room, and a back history of why I started my artistic endeavors.

 My last television interview was done in a studio in Tomah, WI by Steve Peterson and was geared around the launch of my website.  This was a totally different experience, as a group of people came together to make the news brief happen.  This also was very relaxing, and had a wonderful atmosphere to project creativity.  In none of these situations was I nervous at all, but rather excited to have my art and story being showcased that capacity.  Through these stories, being told on the airwaves, you never know who you're going to affect, or who may hear them and receive inspiration.  This is what is very meaningful to me. 

See these interviews here.

Speaking Engagements

One of the things I enjoy doing that correlates with my art is educating and speaking to people about my visual impairment and how I go about completing an art project.  Back in 2001, I was in charge of the outreach mission for the blind at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Baraboo, WI.  I coordinated many events and grew from three people t our first meeting, to 75 at our last.  Since then, I have been asked to speak at several other churches, the Wisconsin Council of the Blind in Madison, and to a local boy scout group in Mauston, WI.  I really enjoy the one-on-one connection with the audience in explaining how I got to be an artist and following my passions. 

My most recent request to speak is at a women's gathering at a Methodist church in Wausau, WI.  This group is doing a mission encouraging people with disabilities, which falls right into one of my favorite speaking topics.  This is supposed to take place sometime in July, and in between now and then, I'm working on several original paintings that I would like to submit to the Second Sense art show for the blind in Chicago.  I continually look for new ways to promote my art, and I'm always encouraged by the responses I get. 

"Circles" - This piece was created to represent the different facets of eyesight.  Everyone sees differently.  Some problems can be corrected, some cannot.