WISDOM

Favourite Quotes

In whatever one does there must be a relationship between the eye and the heart - Henri Cartier-Besson

When the student is ready a teacher will appear!

"The Artist only sees old truths in a new light," stated Matisse, "because there are no new truths."

"Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my cham friends" - Francis Bacon

The people who say it can't
As you wish, so shall you be!

And this too shall pass!

Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do!

Think less, do More!

About being a student

Never listen to anybody when it comes to being responsible for your own paintings. It's a mistake for young artists to want to please older ones. They're going to make you take out of your paintings the very thing that most characterize them as yours. You might think that someone is really smarter than you are, or wiser, or more experienced, and they maybe. But you can't listen to them because nobody knows better than you what you need to do. Most older artists are going to try to get you to conform to the standards that you are out to destroy anyway. (Julian Schnabel)

8 Secrets of Success

Passion - Follow your passion, do it for love and the money comes anyway.

Work - Hard work pays off.

Good - Put your nose down and get good at doing something, focus, focus on one thing at a time.

Push - Got to push through shyness and self doubt. Believe in yourself!

Serve - Serve others something of value.

Ideas - Listen, observe, be curious, problem solve and make connections.

Persist - You got to persist through failure, and

C.R.A.P

C=Criticism

R=Rejection

A=Assholes

P=Pressure

Good Brush marks

My Golden Rules

• Never let presentation out do the work itself.
  

If you're putting a frame around your work then the frame should not detract from the artwork. The job of a frame is to focus the attention onto an artwork

• Equal amounts of work nullify each other.

If you, for example, create an interesting pattern on a particular part of your painting it will stand out as a focal point. BUT, if you then add more of the same pattern to another part of the work or all over the work, you in fact cancel out that first bit of pattern which made the painting interesting. It is OK to repeat patterns, mark making etc but just beware that too much of a good thing can ruin it.

• Invest yourself into the work.

Spend time on your work, take pride in what you are creating. Use the best quality materials that you can afford. Sign and date your work, be proud of your art.

• Failure Factor

You have to lose it before you can find it. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom in order to get back up. Know that and realize that it is part of the process.

• Alter your mark making.

In other words don't do to one side the same as you would the other side. So, for example, if you are drawing a flower petal don't draw each petal exactly the same, change the thickness of the line etc. Having a variety of mark making in a drawing will create a more interesting work to look at.

• Don't give everything away, in other words don't tell all your secrets at once.
  

When you're drawing or painting an image don't always make everything so obvious. Let the viewer use their imagination to fill in some of the story. When drawing an object think about how you can represent it without drawing it as it is (unless that is what you want). What does the object make you think about? Break it down and try and come up with an interesting way to construct it. It will make your paintings much more interesting.

Advice and Wisdom

Inspirational talks which have had a profound effect on me for all different reasons.

Signs

_The Director of SIGNS has his first feature film, Red Hill
Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nrEm9KMV7I

One of the 2009 Cannes Lions winners!