Blog


Fireworks, Or At Least Some Applause?

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, on a rainy Jefferson, Iowa day.  We even had thunder during the night!  But the temperature remains ABOVE freezing, so yea for that!

Now.  About that title up there:  Fireworks, Or At Least Some Applause.  I am trying to give myself a good review here.  Is that even legal?  Better yet, who cares?  Way back in April of 2007, I ended up with some photos that I knew needed to develop into a painting, and yes, dated photos, so definitely April 2007.  Uh huh, it's taken that long.  So the next time you are at an art show and feel compelled to ask the question, "how long did that take you?", you are now prepared to soak in any sort of answer.  There are paintings out there that can be painted in a  day, and then there are those that take two and a half years. 

And as I write this, it just occurred to me that I have to go sign this one yet.  But it's photo-d, and logged into my inventory file.  So at long last, we are calling it complete.  I think I will go put on a pot of coffee, and celebrate a little.  This one makes me feel pretty successful.  Maybe I can even give myself a little applause :)

  Friend, acrylic painting on an impressive 40 x 40 inch canvas.  The exact trouble with a 40 x 40 inch canvas is that you need to see it in person, the real painting, not just an image on your computer screen.  Yes, I think it's impressive on the computer screen, but you should see it in person. Dare I say, that you would have to stop for a while in front of this one.  Hey wait, some of you can do that!  I am planning on having this one at exhibit at the University Of Iowa Thieves Market, during the weekend of December 5th and 6th.  University of Iowa Memorial Union, in Iowa City, Iowa.

Later, Cooper

 

Comment on or Share this Article >>

Certificate Of Authenticity, Sure

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa, where inquiring minds (well, at least one of them) want to know: what's with the hoopla about "certificates of authenticity"?

So google it, they know about everything else.  What do they (google) know about a certificate of authenticity?

"Results 1 - 10 of about 836,000 for certificate of authenticity"

Ok, so they know there are a bunch of them out there, "about 836,000".  Whew!  And I am supposed to believe all that authenticity is valid, right?

Ohhhh, let's move on: Here is the number one entry for the google search

http://www.artbusiness.com/certaut.html  A: To begin with, there is tremendous abuse in the "certificate of authenticity" or COA business, especially at online auctions, particularly on eBay. Unless a certificate of authenticity originates from and is signed by either the artist, the publisher of the art (in the case of limited editions), a confirmed dealer or agent of the artist (not a third party or reseller), or an acknowledged expert on the artist, that certificate is pretty much meaningless.

Whoa!  Hold your horses!  Look at that second sentence up there.  Did you see it?  It's in parenthesis.  It says, "in the case of limited editions".  No matter how "limited" that edition is, it's still nothing more than a copy of the original.  And it really doesn't matter whether you tack on a fancy name like "giclee" or you print off from your handy desktop Epson.  We've got people worried about certifying that copied art is authentic.  Is that not the biggest oxymoron of the day? 

So what does it all mean?  The human race is now reduced to printing off little pieces of paper to tack to the back of a reproduction (you may call it a fake if you like, much shorter, easier to say, unless you own one) to say it's AUTHENTIC.  Authentic what I ask?  An authentic piece of paper that's been through a computer?  Wow, I've got a few of those laying around the office.  Authentic signature of the artist maybe?  Wouldn't it be better to have the artist's signature on something real rather than a copy?  Maybe it's the little logo label that the gallery sticks on it that's authentic? That'll get you a long ways toward fame and fortune.

Folks, we need our heads examined.  When we are reduced to pretending that a piece of paper makes a reproduction real or valuable, well, surely there is something better waiting out there.  Go buy an ORIGINAL.  Real paint on real canvas.  Real paint on real paper.  Real pastels.  Real charcoal.  Real.

Oh, and have a lovely day too!

Later, Cooper


Comment on or Share this Article >>

More Of That Black And White

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio in Jefferson, Iowa, where the sky is just a little bit gray, and so, it seems only logical to talk in terms of black and white.  Oh, and shades of gray.

Last night was the final night of life drawing class that I took this fall, at the Octagon Center in Ames.  (Iowa)  We started the class as always, with gesture drawings, ranging from 20 to 30 seconds.  Just the essentials, ma'am, just the essentials.  We mixed in a few block-ins, looking for solid shape with no detail. 

I have three drawings that I photo-d for you.  The first:

 1 Life Drawing 11 18 09 was supposed to be a foreshortening study, but vantage points for a complete foreshortening were in high demand :)  My easel view was more profile, unless you consider arm to arm.  Anyway, we did a 1 minute gesture drawing, stopped, looked for adjustments, and then took ten more minutes to finish.  Yeah, ten minutes, not too shabby, huh?  :)

We also worked on a pose designed to investigate back muscle.  Again, a 1 minute gesture, but then we rotated easels, worked for a minute on a class mate's drawing.  The theory with that being, a fresh pair of eyes can sometimes find a problem, and correct it.  Back to our own easel, and the ten minutes to finish the drawing.  Resulting in:

  2 Life Drawing 11 18 09.

We finished the session with a long pose---start with a gesture, add some tone, and give it some life,  all in about 40 minutes.  Whew.

  3 Life Drawing 11 18 09   Yeah, I played the rebel and added a little orange streak.  Hey, color is a good thing. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper

Comment on or Share this Article >>

How Long Did That Take You?

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio where the question du jour is "How long did that take you?" 

And it IS the number two question on the list of top ten questions people ask painters, you know.  I am not positive, but I think the general public wants to assume that the smaller the canvas, the less time it takes to paint it.  Poor disillusioned souls.  They are ever so erroneous in that assumption.

My theory on canvas size is that unless you don't have much to say, and therefore paint, you need a big canvas.  I always seem to have plenty to say, which makes thinking on the small canvas a tough job. 

However, I have a healthy respect for people who prefer to hang a smaller canvas in their space.  And so every now and then I throw abandon to the wind and go for the small canvas.  This time the "nice young men in their clean white coats" were coming for me, I'm pretty sure :) but I signed the painting just in time, so no worries.  I continue to paint on!  Here's today's efforts: (and yesterday's, and the day before's....)

   I Can Appreciate That, an acrylic painting on a wonderful little 12 x 12 inch canvas.  In my portfolio, but not yet varnished.  We'll get to that, I promise!  Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper

Comment on or Share this Article >>

The Geranium Lives On

Greetings,

Welcome back to the Cooper studio.  So the afternoon is winding down, and it's time to head towards my life drawing class.  First, would you like to see what I played with this afternoon?  It was still-life-day again.  Now that I look at it photo-d, it might need just a bit of adjustment, but here's the photo anyway.

   Window Ledge Still Life 11 11 09, an acrylic painting on paper.  Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper

Comment on or Share this Article >>

Lean It On The Wall

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa, where we are being blessed with another gorgeous autumn day.

Some of you may be wondering about the title of this post, Lean It On The Wall.  Actually, I consider "leaning it on the wall" to be an integral part of the bag of tricks available to me, as a painter.

I find it helpful in any case, and essential  in the case where the painting is on a larger canvas.

Take the current easel occupant, for instance.  It's a 40 x 40 inch canvas.  I have been planning it since April of 2007, drawing it in various situations since then, and finally putting it's paint on it's canvas, starting about 2 weeks ago.  (Should I apologize about that April 2007 date?  You're right, but some things just take a little longer than others.)   But you get the picture---I can see this one in my sleep.  When you know something that well, I think it's easy to "visually read" between the lines.  Did I put that line in right, or did I just think I did?  Surely that little dark place behind her arm is dark enough, or wait---is it?  Have I just made it darker so many times that my mind won't even consider that it's not dark enough?

So, today, it gets to hop down off the easel, and find a bare space of wall to lean on.  I know other artists who turn their paintings to face the wall, possibly out-of-sight-out-of-mind for a while?  I prefer that they look at me, and I look at them.  Every now and then catching something from a different angle will suggest an additional brush stroke. 

I suppose I should share a photo of it's progress to date, oh, and it had a title way back when the idea first happened in 2007.  It's Friend.



That's it for now, we'll see what transpires as it leans on the wall for a few days.  Thanks for stopping by!

Later, Cooper 

Ps:  post scripts may be written in red, surely?  I had occasion to read back through some of my notes about this painting---apparently it consumed my thought processes in that space of time.  Just letting you know, others have voted yes on the whole timeline, including the outcome.  The painting has been selected for Galex 44, and will be hanging in said exhibit beginning 3/13/2010 for about a month.


Comment on or Share this Article >>

About Those Evaluation Forms---

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, on a beautiful Monday afternoon in Jefferson, Iowa.   Actually I am pretending it's Sunday.  I just spent two days at the Metro Arts Expo (Des Moines, Iowa)  I worked hard and so I get to pretend today is my day of rest.  Hey, it's all legal.

But the Metro Arts Expo.  Put on by the Metro Arts Alliance, and they do a fine job.  They also want to do an even finer job as evidenced by the printed evaluation form they passed out to each artist as the show was getting ready to close.  I avoided filling one out while still at the event, but now, am thinking maybe I need to follow through with my opinions.

And so I direct this next question to fellow artists who participate in art shows:  Do you fill out the evaluation forms?  And if yes, please let me ask another:  Do recommendations about judges and jurying seem to fill your evaluation?  Do we all harp about the same problems that basically go unanswered?  And what is the meaning of life while you're at it.  See, I told you it was Sunday, er, Monday.  Have a lovely rest of the day.  I still haven't decided if I am filling out the darned thing or not.

Later, Cooper

Comment on or Share this Article >>

Booth Slide---Aargh!*#^!

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio in Jefferson, Iowa.

Booth slide, bah humbug!  There are at least 1300 of you out there who are fully aware that Saturday, October 31st,  was the deadline to submit your application for the Des Moines Art Festival 2010.  And as all 1300ish of us are also fully aware, the folks in charge in Des Moines require the dreaded booth slide.  And what self respecting Iowa artist does not jump right in there with yet another application?

Woe is me.  My booth slide was aged two years, which in other words means two years too old.  I am nothing if not brave, so I got out the push broom and cleared the driveway of leaves.  I pulled the canopy back up the basement stairs from where I thought I had stored it away for the winter.  The pro panel bags are just as heavy, and there are four of them.  Once they are arranged to perfection, I selected the perfect paintings for a booth slide, and added them to the most perfect display ever.   I added the booth slide to the images of my paintings and sent the Des Moines Art Festival folk my BEST APPLICATION EVER!  I do bear that liability of an Iowa address, but otherwise, it was perfect!  (yes, you have to be from Iowa to get that joke)

I breathed a sigh of relief.  Done.  Finished.  Now, totally prepared to point, click and send for all the rest of the shows I intend to apply to for the year 2010. 

I opened up the next show file.  Aaargh!#*!  Another booth slide, and aaargh!#*! it's not the same!  They have different rules.  They don't play the game the same way.  They want a different angle on the booth slide.  Corner to corner, and if you use a mat bin at the show, you have to have it in your booth slide.  Your have to have four canopy weights (well, of course you do) and we'd better be able to see proof of it in your booth slide.  We won't love you if you don't do it our way.  Dios mio.  I am back to square one with the dreaded booth slide.  Yahda yahda, I'll probably survive.

How about some blog post color?  That should help us all feel better!  Here you go:

   Window Ledge Still Life 11 3 09, an acrylic painting original on paper.  And yup, it's already in my portfolio, even though I haven't cut the mat for it yet.  I promise to get that done pretty quick, ok?  Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper

Comment on or Share this Article >>

Defining

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio where the question has been asked:  What is art?  It must be definition day.

 

Is it easier to define what art ISN’T?  Perhaps.  Actually, probably.

 

1.  Art isn’t the thing you hang on your wall to match your sofa.

2.  Art isn’t the thing you hang on your wall, that you are sure your friends will approve of because they all have a copy hanging on their walls.

3.  And on that note, art isn’t a copy or reproduction of an original piece of art.

4.  Art isn’t something featuring the year’s top five “decorator colors”

5.  Art isn’t something made because you think somebody will buy it.

 

Actually, this is one of those times when I wish I was one of those people who made a file of all the inspirational quotes from great artists of the past and what they’ve said art is.  You know they knew because of what they left behind:  ART

 

And THAT makes me think of the time I saw VanGogh’s Starry Night at the Art Institute in Chicago.  The place was packed with other people all trying to see the paintings as well.  You were supposed to be polite, look at the painting, and move on.  Nope.  I was rude and I stopped.  For a long time I stopped, because the painting required me to look at it for a long time.  Art, Starry Night, most definitely is.  It makes your eyes not want to leave.  It makes you not want to leave.

 

But realistically, it doesn’t have to be Starry Night, or Luncheon Of The Boating Party, or Young Girl Writing to be art.  Feature this:  even you or I can make something “art”.  But it has to have at least a smidgeon of something that all three of those paintings I just mentioned have---it has to be INTERESTING.

 

Sure, maybe it matches your sofa and if it’s interesting then you can call it art.  It makes your eyes want to look because it’s interesting, not because it matches your sofa.  It makes you take another look because it interests you, it speaks to you, sofa color has nothing to do with that.

 

And maybe it does have five of the year’s top decorator colors, but forget that, it’s so interesting that you want to look at it all the time.  You walk out of your way for another chance to look at it because it interests you.  It's calling you because it's so interesting.  Yea!  You get to call it art!

 

Sorry, I can’t stop without one more qualifier: to be interesting, it’s got to be real.  And that’s two kinds of real to you.  Real as in honest-created-from-the-heart-real.  Something must inspire.  Yup, that rules out #5 on the list.  AND real as in original, not-a-copy, not-a-reproduction.  A poster of Starry Night I can leave.  Starry Night, the original made me want to stay.  And look some more.  Now that’s art.


Have a lovely day, and thanks for stopping by.  
 

Later, Cooper

ps.  See you at Metro Art Expo in downtown Des Moines, Iowa this weekend!


Comment on or Share this Article >>
« Older Posts    Newer Posts »

Home

About the Artist

Portfolio

Schedule

links to good places

Cooper, on painting, blog

CooperStudio newsletter signup

Contact Karen

Links To Recent Audio Newsletters

Artist Websites by FineArtStudioOnline
Mobile Site | iPhone Site | Regular Site