Still Life......

December 1st....winter is definitely coming

Good time to stay warm with a still life

Martini time...

Sometimes it's just about the painting... My mind was strangely quiet this weekend. Perhaps being in awe of the slew of great painters I've been studying. So many brilliant painters, so much paint to place Pear Martini: 8x10 oil on canvas panel

Age and energy

The topic of age was in the air the other night. Listening to NPR, the programs "All Things Considered" and "Fresh Air" were discussing artists and age. A question posed was this: does an artist create more lasting and meaningful works of art because they are advanced in age?

One person mentioned was Monet, who arguably created his best work during his advanced years in his garden at Giverny. Also J.S. Bach, who completed singular works including the B Minor Mass at a point in his late fifties -- advanced age for the 18th century.

While the list of aging geniuses is long, so too is the list of highly accomplished youngsters creating their seminal works before the age of forty.

Does then, the maturity and experience of age surpass the energy and risk-taking of youth when it comes to art? Ironically, the question may be itself a victim of infancy. Consider that only in the last 80 or so years has the average life expectancy increased beyond fifty. A relatively short amount of time in the history of human artistic endeavors. In short, we maybe haven't been living long enough yet to arrive at an accurate evaluation.....and does it even matter.....

I suppose I found this interesting because it hits so close to home for me. Here I sit in front of an easel, embarking on a new artistic life at the age of 46. I sincerely hope my best work is in front of me.

"Watermelon and plums" 9x12, oil on canvas panel