Art Walk Campaign

It's almost inevitable, it seems, that a visual artist gets called upon to do some graphic design. Over the years, I've worked in graphics and printing many times. In 2004, I created this advertising campaign for the Murray Hill Arts Association in Cleveland. It was a great year for attendance.

The theme I used throughout the advertisements and publicity materials was graphic images of people's legs all walking in the same direction. There are men and women and boys and girls of various ages—which you can tell from the clothing and the size of the figures. A number of the figures are carrying art that they purchased.

This was the 25th anniversary of the event, so the 25th was featured prominently. Below are stickers we used to seal the box lunches that we provided attendees.

After that year, I moved out of my Murray Hill studio. A few years later, I learned that they had continued to use this design in later art walks.

Why anyone can learn to draw

—Creativity—

I once led a drawing workshop for a group of executives at a large corporation. They recognized the value in learning to draw to help them learn to communicate better with each other in meetings. Drawing is something we can all learn, and it's not just for artists. There was a time when learning to draw was considered part of a modern, aristocratic education for every young person.

Drawing has something to do with talent, but anyone can develop the cognitive and physical skills that form the foundation of drawing technique. It is in vision and inspiration that some might stand out more than others. On the other hand, one can go far by simply learning to listen to the muse. So here are a half-dozen aspects of drawing that are available to anyone willing to learn.

Drawing Conventions. Certain ways of rendering a drawing are time-tested for their effectiveness in communicating visual form. These conventions can be learned by anyone. In my classes, for example, students learn how to draw shadows using a formula that most artists use.

Fundamentals of composition. There are constants in art, just as there are constants in music. We can identify a variety of visual characteristics that we can rely upon to produce consistent visual effects. Anyone can learn to create emotional harmony or tension using these fundamentals. These rules seem to be based in nature rather than in culture. For example, a horizontal line will usually seem to refer to landscape.

Seeing. A great deal of any art making has to do with seeing, just as making music has to do with hearing, and great writing has to do with reading. As you develop your drawing skills, you will learn to see the world differently, and see your drawings differently.

Drawing skills.  Over time, artists have learned the ways that tools and materials work. Anyone can learn to use a pencil. You can learn how to sharpen and hold a pencil, and how to draw with it. If you practice, you can easily master your technique.

Style. Simply by being yourself, your own unique style will come out. You will learn to recognize and value your style, and then develop it.

Imagination. This is where some people stand out more than others. Some of us are quite naturally called to engage our peers with unusual ways of experiencing. While some of us may be more imaginative than others, we can all develop our imaginations more. In addition, we can all learn to identify, appreciate, and create visual poetry.

So, there's no reason to fear drawing! If you understand that learning drawing is like learning any new skill set, you will understand why you have trouble at first, but you will know that you can watch yourself master it over time like any skill. Maybe we should think of every skill in life as an art form!

I once had a young student who told me, at the beginning of the first class, that he wanted to learn to draw a fist. I told him that I would teach him what he needed to know to draw anything he wanted. I soon forgot about the fist. On the last day of the six-week course, his mom came to pick him up. And he asked her to wait as he pulled out a fresh piece of paper. On it, he drew a perfect hand, closed into a fist. He had remembered what I told him and proved to himself that he had learned to draw it, simply by learning how to draw.

Palm tree centerpiece

—Lesson Plan—

This one's for art students who are a little bit older. It's just a fun filler for lazy times.

The leaves are made the same way a snow flake is made. Just use tropical colors of construction paper.

The trunk is construction paper rolled into a narrow cone and cut flat on the bottom. I usually add a staple or two. Sometimes it can be a little challenging to get these things to stand up.

How to teach art

—Creativity—

Here's an analogy. I imagine that in culinary school there are two kinds of teachers. The first kind of teacher says, this is how you make a soufflé (that's the classic culinary school example, right—a soufflé?). So the first type of teacher says, you have to do it like this: steps 1, 2, 3. That's a soufflé. The greatest soufflé chef in the world is chef so-and-so from such-a-place and that is how he makes a soufflé. Do it like he does and put a little twist of your own on it. Keep doing it over and over until you realize that I am right.

The second type of teacher in culinary school says, this is what makes a soufflé a soufflé. Let me teach you what a soufflé is, how it works, why it works, and why people respond to it. Here are some similar dishes that aren't quite the same thing in most people's views. Now see what you can do with this knowledge. This teacher accepts that students will go far afield and rein themselves in eventually, with a complete understanding of what a soufflé is and can be, and what it isn't and can't be. They may even discover something the teacher didn't think about.

Notice the words I used in the first example center on you and me. This teacher says, you need to be like me and we need to be like him. This teacher says, yours needs to be like mine and ours need to be like his. But in the second example, the emphasis is on people and soufflés in general. The first is controlling and the second is free and student-centered.

You can guess which one I prefer. If, in teaching art, we are teaching a formula that gets you to "art," then art education will be pedantic, coercive, and not very lively. Such a teacher will be prescriptive, didactic, and authoritarian—though perhaps not overtly. Maybe that's the tradition.

But, if we provide open-ended tools for practicing art-making, instead of circumscribed rules for performing painting-painting, then we open the possibility of imaginative and rewarding creativity.

Illusion, novelty, and spectacle

—Creativity—

For a long time, now, I've had this concept that guides my work, and guides the way I look at other art. It has to do with three very common aspects of art, whether I find it to be good, bad, or mediocre art: illusion, novelty, and spectacle. These are three words that describe the way that art often works for a viewer. I think the terms are self-explanatory.

But I do need to explain why I focus on these three things. And the reason is that these are all qualities and purposes that can very easily ruin art for me. These are ways of working that can easily go too far. I can think of many powerful works that can be described with any or all of these terms, but the power of these qualities in good art is in the restraint the artist shows when using them.

Illusion, novelty, and spectacle are powerful forces. But in abundance, they lose strength. There must be more (or less) going on; a great work of art cannot be created with just these three designs. Illusion, novelty, and spectacle are manipulative forces. They surprise us, and excite us. They must, like ingredients in good cuisine, be used carefully, and with good judgment. They must be complemented with some other ingredients. They must be tempered. A good artist can make a spectacle out of something small and subtle. A good artist can do something novel, but make it timeless at the same time. A good artist can trick our eyes, but reward our senses with familiarity and our minds with grounded logic.

Often, when I see something I don't like, I can blame the artist for going overboard with one of these three qualities—or using them for their own sake, rather than as secret ingredients. Sometimes, when I see a work I like, I can attribute success to the artist for using these three qualities. But when I think about it, the artist is not being manipulative, but is instead sharing. The artist is not using trickery, or making a big noise, or taking the easy path of total absurdity. The artist is not going straight for our senses, but is getting to our senses through our hearts, minds, and souls.

Act, don't react

Here is another maxim that helps to guide me as an artist: Act, don't react.

Being an artist means constantly dealing with fears. Many of these fears are gifts from school, family, friends, and society. Or sometimes they are the fears of others who are directing us. But there's no reason to gripe about that. Knowing what has impacted our thinking gives us the power to dismiss those influences and replace fear-based thinking with empowered thinking. A good way to differentiate these two styles or modes of thinking is with the words "action" and "reaction."

ACTION		REACTION
A new activity that proactively initiates positive change		A response that attempts to reverse or eliminate an unpleasant emotion or seemingly urgent situation
Is about building opportunity for the future		Is about solving problems quickly
It makes a good situation evolve		It makes a bad situation go away, at least emotionally, and temporarily
It feels like more work, but it works more		It feels like less work, but it works less
The motivating emotion feels good		The motivating emotion feels bad
The action is positive, leading to more positive situations and ensuring long-term success		The reaction is either positive or negative; a positive reaction is short-lived, and a negative reaction leads to more unpleasantness
Realization of goals may take more time but it leads to long-term success—it takes longer but it lasts longer.		Resolution may come sooner, but it is only a short-term solution—it comes quicker but it goes quicker.
Emotion is reinforced as the goal advances		Emotion declines as the goal advances
Motivation continues after the goal is met resulting in long-term rewards		Motivation discontinues after the goal is met and is replaced with temporary relief
Motivating emotion drives you to another goal, as the goal is to increase positive emotions to drive us forward		Motivating emotion does not drive you to another goal as the goal is simply to make that emotion go away
Action is characterized by strong, clear, hard thought		Reaction is characterized by murky thinking
It is empowering		It is overpowering

Academic Drawing & Painting

Many modern artists of the twentieth century had strong technical training in painting and drawing before they turned to more abstract forms of art. If you go to a museum, you can often see traces of classical training in their abstractions.

Here are some academic drawings and paintings I did in art school.