I recently was the featured speaker at a Rotary Club meeting on behalf of the Garibaldi Art Club. One of the things I talked about was the challenges faced by artists today.

I am not talking here about the obvious challenges of learning the necessary skills, controlling the medium, achieving good composition, etc. etc.

Here are some challenges I think artists face: (I%92m sure there are many more...)

Time:     Finding time to paint is, for many of us, a real challenge. With busy lives, jobs, families, there always seems to be something more important to do. It takes determination and a real commitment to make time for our art.

Costs:     Artists face so many costs: art supplies, framing costs, membership dues and entry fees to shows; then there%92s promotion costs, exhibition and advertising costs, and so on. Rising costs are always a challenge.

Interest:     Another issue that is quite challenging is getting people interested in your art, or in art in general. Getting people to come to art shows is a challenge, depending on where you live. There%92s nothing worse than going to all the trouble of putting on a show, or setting up in an outdoor show, only to have a poor turnout. It can be very disappointing.

Sales:     Selling art work is the ultimate challenge for an artist. Most of us would rather let someone else take care of the business side of art. So many people are afraid to buy original art. They think it should be an %92investment%92. They think they don%92t know enough about art to make a %92smart%92 purchase. They%92re intimidated by the art, or by the price.

There are many challenges we all face. I suppose that%92s what keeps life interesting.

What are some of your challenges? Share your thoughts by clicking on %92Comments%92 below.

Suzette

Abstract art is not everyone%92s cup of tea. I can understand that. Many people%92s reaction to abstract art is either %92I don%92t understand it%92, or %92my 2-year-old could have done that%92.

For me, abstract art is all about the arrangement of colours and shapes in a way that evokes a feeling, a sensation, in the viewer. When I look at an abstract, it either speaks to me or it doesn%92t. And if it does, it%92s all about the colours, and how they are placed on the canvas, and how they interact with one another. There doesn%92t have to be a %92special meaning%92 to it, there isn%92t something to be understood, it%92s strictly a visual sensory experience.

You don%92t need special knowledge or insight to appreciate abstract art. You just need to be able to look at the whole and feel what it says to you, without trying to find specific objects or places in the work. Just feel. Like it, or hate it, but feel it.

Wassily Kandinsky said: "The impact of the acute angle of a triangle on a circle produces an effect no less powerful than the finger of God touching the finger of Adam in Michelangelo." That%92s a powerful statement, and I couldn%92t agree more.

What do you think? Share your views by clicking on %92Comments%92 below.

Suzette

Have you ever had a painting that was not working? You%92ve been working on this painting for some time and you suddenly realize that it%92s just not working. What do you do? Do you throw it away? Do you keep working and fussing, hoping that somehow it will work out in the end? Do you put it away hoping that next time you look at it, months from now, you%92ll magically have the solution to make it work?

In my experience, if you keep on doing the same thing, you keep on getting the same result, so, if this one isn%92t working, no matter how long you work it, it still won%92t come together. Unless you do something different.

Trying to save a painting can be a wonderful exercise, whether or not you succeed.

Once a painting is headed for the dumpster, you have nothing to lose. Now is the time to get really creative, inventive, wild. Let go. Be totally free. There is everything to gain and nothing to lose but a bit of paint.

I have often done this; I call it my %92kamikaze%92 approach. At this point, I know that I will either make or break this painting. And it doesn%92t matter. Does it work? I would say 50-50. Sometimes, something amazing can result; other times, it%92s a disaster and you end up throwing it away. BUT, it%92s never a loss if you have allowed yourself to be free and creative, because you have undoubtedly learned something in the process. So even if THIS painting does not make it, you have gained something by trying. I highly recommend it.

What do YOU do with problem paintings? Share your ideas by clicking on %92Comments%92 below.

Suzette

PS: The painting above, %92Teal%92, is an example of this. I had painted this small cradled panel, I had gel on there, it was NOT coming together. So I took a piece of rice paper, wet it down and glued it over the entire surface of the panel. Since there was texture underneath, the %92bumps%92 remained and showed through the rice paper. I put a layer of gloss medium over the paper and let it all dry. Then I painted it again. The texture underneath, and the paint over top of the rice paper, all created a most unique little painting. I rather love it.