Blog

Charles Bargue and his plates of greatness! [...]

[photo from Angel Academy of Art: www.angelartschool.com] As promised, this Blog represents the practical structure (boots on the ground) of my commitment to pursue my vision of the most masterful fine art of which I believe I am capable. The first thing I must do is lay before you my own vision. According to this vision, the outline I have sculpted for myself should lead me forward in that direction at a good pace.  My Vision: "I have but one life, and the years of this life that remain within it. To that end--and it will most surely come to an end at some [...]

When, as my previous few blogs have described, we awaken--like Og perhaps--to our TRUE HUMANISM, we sense if not yet see something glorious. We long to be transformed by that vision, to transform others by giving to them the gift of the human-beautiful, of how humanity in its highest nobility COULD see the world around them. This, of course, is why I am an artist--perhaps "called" to be an artist. [...]

We begin in this Blog with—MANAGEMENT [You'll see why in a moment]. [...]

So, take heart, this blog is not for but a handful of people. To you whom may in it find some purchase, may you at first find it better to simply smirk at its presumption, (revealed momentarily), and quite actually, any response will be better if it helps us avoid pulling back the curtains of our evening slumber to reveal that hideous specter of "What if?" or it's ghastly twin "What could have been?" [...]

Have you had that moment? You know the one, the one where you are doing fine in your normal life as a practicing artist and then, a great one hits you, you discover something more with him or her  that makes that artist's work come alive to you. Like: Franz Hals, Zorn, Sargent, Mancini, and then . . . then . . . you meet Solomon J. Solomon. Enjoy a sampling of his work! Jeff [...]

Oh, one motivating force to make this happen when the chips are down these obstacles loom before me in doing this vast project alone: being told by one of Academy graduate to whom I turned for curriculum assistance, that he could not believe this was possible for someone my age (39) to do with the hope of being successful. [OUCH!] [...]

So it's late September in Missouri, the fall winds are blowing prematurely early this year, and the "scent of Fall" is ubiquitous as each damp leaf falls. And yet, what dangers lurk . . . ? [...]