Purpose

 I am fairly certain that this blog will not be anything more than my ramblings.  

This is not one of those simpering appeals to sympathy that so many people use to try and gain attention.  I would say its a trait of the current generation of kids, except that I can remember the same thing happening around my generation.  

Hopefully, without interference from my subconscious, this is a statement of this blogs PURPOSE.

Of course, when I read the sentence at the beginning of this current ramble this is not a statement of fact, but my expectations for Atelier Powell.

Why?

I am not a teacher, nor do I have a grand purpose like those evangelists that travel from church to church.  For some strange reason, they did not like rock bands of my youth.  It was almost like a twisted marketing campaign, telling teens do not listen to these groups and then handing out a list of the albums.  

Evangelists never made since to me.  Why travel to churches, literally and metaphorically, preaching to the choir?  And, didn't the Apostle Paul, the prototype for evangelists, support himself with a trade so he didn't burden those he preached to?   I can understand the tithes collected by churches, after all buildings and services cost money and churches support neighborhoods.  Or they used too.  

I'm not selling anything, at the moment.  

[Wink, Wink.  Please click. Studio Powell]

[Nudge, Nudge: Etsy Shop: Studio Powell]

[Innocent look while whistling]

I type words on "paper" and then I feel a need to share them.  The blog is faster than letter writing and if someone is not interested, they can skip it without being rude.  I think it is important not to be rude, especially if you want to throttle the person in front of you.  It's a type of passive violence that can escalate to active status real fast. 

Now you are probably wondering about the skulls I have chosen to place in the article.  That is normal.  Images in articles are usually related, although there is no rule that says they have to relate.

The funny thing about people is that if there is not connection between the words and the images, people will made connections.  We cannot help ourselves.   

I see it in my drawing and paintings that are representational, to the extent that people see things I never put in there.  I suppose that Art, if I ever reach that level of mastery, is a skeleton that people flesh out with their own ideas and memories.  

Am I thinking about my death?  That is the question that pops up every time people see skulls.  Well, the answer is yes.  I am over 50 years old. What do you expect? But, there is not much to think about.  It's going to happen sooner or later.  I spend more time deciding lunch or what movie to see.  

Skulls and skeletons are subjects artist's draw as students, in western schools.  An understanding of anatomy, muscles and skeletons, is incredibly useful to artists.  

Thoughts on Painting In The Modern Age

Progress Photo of A Figurative painting.
Done last year, 2020
Personally, I like doing this sort of project.  Changing directions can yield some nice developments in technique, and artistic vision.  

This painting feels sort of redundant.  

Photography can capture this composition in more detail and will be much closer to how we see things. 

Hats off to super realists.  They continue to demonstrate the artist painter's ability to match the camera.  That is not a small accomplishment.

But, a photographer can finish a project in days, if not hours.  And the digital image has an amazing potential for mass production of images.  Of course, I used a camera to document a painting in its early stages.

The mechanization of art started long before Warhol made a career of pointing it out.  In some ways, it started in the Renaissance.  The studios of those times were more workshop than what we consider an art studio these days.  Of course, painting occupied a space similar to social media back then.  A single person studio might not have been able to keep up with demand. 

Today, Art has the potential to reach more people than the Renaissance artist ever dreamed could exist.  

What is Painting's standing these days?  

I'm still digging through the mountain of images and talent on the net.  Still reading historians and people who know more about the subject.

Painting hang in homes these days; but, more often, they are seen on phones, tablets, and all sorts of screens.  A public gallery of sorts, where people who cannot spare the money for an original go to see art. 

So, so it seems that painting still serves the educational role that religious organizations and government use so well - confirmation and propaganda.  

Do paintings entertain?  The painting process videos on instagram, you tube, vine, etc. seem to be entertaining, if with a short shelf life.  Gallery shows are still popular events.

The wealthy still collect major works. Or, commision pieces to support artists.  I am not really sure why some wealthy people collect and commision art.  From what I've seen, the  collections of individuals seem to be about a love of art.  Corporations see collections as investments.  

Oh, commissioning architectural projects, well that is a bid for immortality.  Remember the Pharaohs?  It kinda works.

I don't think much has really changed, except the venues and the scale of the audience.

The monetary value of art is still whatever a person is willing to pay.  Which is why mass production lowers the monetary value of most art.  Someone is always willing to sell for less.  This is probably more important to the artist trying to make a living.