We’ve had some conversations lately about why we paint, which leads to how we paint and in turn influences what we paint.  As we approach the process of opening our studio a myriad of reactions arise. It is the perfect time to reflect on the reasons we spend the effort, time and money to pursue this endeavor.

We will be merely continuing….  What better way to reaffirm why we show up at the ArtHouse.

Below are some quotes that may enlighten or may reinforce:

“Basically, I no longer work for anything but the sensation I have while working.” Alberto Giacometti

“I believe that the great masters, with their intellect as master, have attempted to force this unwilling medium of paint and canvas into a record of their emotions. I find any digression from this aim leads me to boredom.”
Edward Hopper

“Whenever I am asked questions concerning my artistic aims I hardly know what to say. When actually painting, the heat of creation may be so intense that the artist’s execution becomes completely subconscious… my chief aim in painting is in the expression of a completely personal mood.”
Charles Burchfield

“It is the function of the artist to evoke the experience of surprised recognition: to show the viewer what he knows but does not know that he knows. Helnwein is a master of surprised recognition.”
William S. Burroughs, about Helnwein

“As ugly as the work is, no work is so ugly that it can’t be assimilated.”
Leon Golub

“Part of the impulse of modernity is the demand for change. It’s like you’re not a real artist unless you’re attempting to make a radical new statement. It’s part of the whole Zeitgeist of always seeking innovations instead of using older forms that still have good use value; and it’s certainly in the spirit of a capitalist economy, which depends for its survival on constant innovation.”
Richard Shusterman

AND here is a link to a blog where people address the subject of Why Make Art: http://whymakeart.com/