Art News

Hi all,

I have searched the World Wide Web hoping to find art related news worthy to share. To my dismay I found a host of short snippets containing bad critiques, new wave thoughts, and modernism praises. However, one article piqued my interest because it was about the upcoming Three Rivers Art Festival in Pittsburgh. A really cool idea was to use refurbished shipping containers as art installation/exhibit halls. Not a bad idea; they are portable, secure, and much better than a tent. The 8 foot by 40 foot containers have been weatherproofed and prepared to show art. Great idea!

As I went on searching for current art news I could not find anything on the kind of traditional art I like. I tend to start reading about past American artists and the Dutch masters of the 1700's. The trouble is that the Internet is flooded with bad art and related news. Studies have shown that 95% of us have never been in an art gallery. Maybe this should be a clue to the galleries and museums showing the bad stuff (I really don't want to name drop here).

I became excited when I read the headline "Most Expensive Living Artist - Lucian Freud." My excitement gained as I caught the words "I'm so glad a painterly painter..."; when I looked at the published image of the work and wondered WHAT? Really...$33.6 million dollars!? I couldn't believe it; the painting looked like a calm version of a Van Gough. Before I get hate mail - Van Gough suffered from many problems and was only a painter for 10 years. He never sold a painting in his life and I feel he was not a master. Again, before you send the hate mail, please understand this is just my opinion. Now back to Freud...$33.6 million! Your kidding right. Why can't I offer to give 30% of the profits to a known critic, and 30% to Christies to auction one of my paintings. If it only sells for 10% of the Freud art then I stand to make a cool $1.3 million!

For artists like myself, and those not "discovered" by the world's critics, it is a dark time. We sell so we can purchase new materials and do another painting. We seek out clients who connect with our work. Almost like we are trying to find a good home for a good pet we need to sell in order to feed our families. Art news today follows the trends of modernism. Galleries and museums cater to the elite art scene. I truly believe the only reason the Dutch masters (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Durer, etc.) paintings haven't been put in storage is because the establishment views them as old treasures. These treasures are the bread and butter realism, the bar, the pinnacle, the goal for many of us - so give us some real news and stop pushing modernism!

Cheers,

Michael