Thursday, September 16, 2010

Two definitive moment's...




My original intention was to paint tonight in the studio but,after an 11 hour session last nite (3rd shift)I'm a lil' tired physically.So,I thought I'd use this time to blog about my introduction into art & how I became an artist...
I'm not going to go back to far (we all made things in kindergarten) and so I guess we'll start with 6th grade...Growing up my family was very poor (parents poor,grandparents rich) & the only outlet for me was athletics.I saw that as my only way out and so I played just about every sport there was to play.When 6th grade began I never thought of anything else and certainly didn't think much about art other than drawing sneakers,cityscapes,cars etc...So,first day I have art for like 4rth period (or something).I walk in take my desk (in the back) & as it turned out our teacher was no ordinary teacher.Miss Richards was incredibly beautiful,young,smart & funny so,not your run of the mill 6th grade art teacher (or was she?)...Anyway,to this day I have no idea why she picked me to be her "project" as I was just 1 of 35 students & I didn't think I gave her a reason to as I wasn't that inclined but,she did.I learned so much about art that year & it wasn't dogmatic (as I would experience it alot later on) or boorish.She would use every resource to make all kinds of art from copiers to enlargers,early computers (& not "The Oregon Trail"),oils,spray paint,silkscreen,everything!!!We spent alot of time in the dark working with an enlarger and talking about Paris,London & the like.All the places she had been as she herself was an artist (of course) & I thought a good one at that.At the end of the year she put me in a show at a TCBY yogurt!It was an "exhibition" of young California artists and so,to this day I consider that to be my first show.For years after I clashed with all my art teachers or professors & never had the same "great teacher" so,art was kinda lost to me again....

Until 2000...Like I had mentioned before I was an athlete first & foremost.That was my way out of poverty,the ticket to my dreams.I was a varsity athlete in 5 different sports.Basketball,football,track,swim team & a five star baseball prospect.I was in Fort Myers,Florida that summer playing "A League" & I blew my knee out (ACL&MCL) for the second time.I had the first surgery when I was 12 (for the same thing)& so,every once in awhile my knee would give out.The second time was a freak injury while delivering a pitch (like I said freak).Anyway,I remember sitting there at my locker in the clubhouse after I was carried in & the medical staff had gone away,thinking what do I do now?I hate to toot my own horn but,I had a million dollar arm & my knees/legs weren't worth 99 cents a pound & so,my arm was now worth the same (99 cents)...I drove home (rented furnished apartment)got inside & my girlfriend at the time played nurse (c'mon she iced down my knee!).Brought me the mail & my Smithsonian magazine had com.I was a subscriber & into those publications because of my opa (grandpa in German).He had a 1,000 old (20's,30's,40's,50's National geographics & I use to read the hell out of 'em growin' up but,I digress...
On the cover of my Smithsonian was Pierre Bonnards "Almond tree in bloom" & my heart was captured again for the arts.I was struck as I read the article (awesome by the way) by his brushwork,colors,composition & subject matter.Now,I was an art major but,I don't recall ever hearing about Bonnard until I was reading my magazine.A lot of my teachers were Picasso lovers or Warhol lovers & so I had never heard of the guy.Here I am,my baseball career over & asking myself what I was gonna do just hours before?Here was a sign if there ever was one & that was the moment I knew I was gonna be an artist.Especially with my 6th grade experience & all the wonderful things my grandparents showed me (paintings,books,history & he was an amateur photographer)while growing up with them.There are many other stories of artistic folly but,that was the definitive moment,a definitive time.And so,10 years later I'm climbing the mountain of my profession & I still think of it as a sport,an individual one (except in cases of collaboration or gallery unity)but,a sport none the less.As an athlete I was incredibly competitive because I had a huge chip on my shoulder to be the best,to make my dreams come true & as an artist now I feel that I still have that same chip on my shoulder only the dreams are a lil' different but,it drives me & my motivation has never been stronger.It's been a great year & it feels like it's only just the begining...