Quote for the Day

  “Earth laughs in flowers.”                                                                   Ralph Waldo Emerson   My painting “Earth Awaits Spring” was created in late winter when the earth was… read more

“The life that I have chosen gives me my full hours of enjoyment. “                                     Winslow Homer   The life I have chosen as an artist has given me also full hours of enjoyment. The freedom to create… read more

“Paint what you love.”                                                                               Linda Fruhwald   Painting what one loves makes perfect sense. As love flows through… read more

  “Paint what you love.”                                                                               Linda Fruhwald   Paint what you love. Truth is that paint… read more

 As pertaining to an artist: “So obviously the only “right” way to do something is to try the various options presented until you discover what works for you.”                                                       … read more

 Gazette article 6/19/16   In the interview, Jeff Goldblum was asked if it was fame and money that he wanted most by appearing in The Fly.    “No. It was expressing myself and doing something I loved for its own sake. Love the art, instead of fame or money. “          … read more

  “Painting is an illusion. ART is inside.”                                                                           Alvaro Castagnet   Alvaro Castagnet often says, “What makes a… read more

    “If you want to be depressed, turn on your television or read the newspaper. If you want to be uplifted, turn to art.”                                                              … read more

“The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.“                                                              Michelangelo       Drops of dew reflecting on leaves of green, fields of gold grain moving as if ocean waves, graceful leaps of deer through the woods, pulsating wings of a colorful hummingbird, a stunning glory-filled sunset…the list goes on… read more

    “Each artist must decide what direction is relevant,       not for everyone, but for themselves,       and have the courage to follow his or her own creative path.”                                                … read more

“Light tomorrow with today!” Elizabeth Barrett Browning   How does one take this quote artistically? Perhaps, for artists, we light up our tomorrow by being active in our art today. The benefits of daily being active include all facets of art: happiness, discovery, maturity, and even financially. All I know is that it is pure… read more

“To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work.”                                                                       Sister Mary Lauretta   I… read more

    “Great works of art should look as though they were made in joy. Real joy is a tremendous activity. “ Robert Henri   Spontaneous combustion is what I call pure joy of painting! Spontaneous combustion is the process of catching fire through heat generated by internal chemical action. If that isn’t the joy… read more

  “The best color in my paintings is found.”                                                                            Robert E. Wood   Nowadays there has been much… read more

“When I am painting, I get lost in the world I am creating and life is good.”                                                                             … read more

“Creative living is driven more strongly by curiosity than fear.”   I underlined the ”more strongly” because in any artist’s life, fear rears its ugly head oft far too often. However, curiosity is the real driving force behind any artist. The questions, “What if I do this?” Or “What happy surprises would I discover if… read more

“Anyone who says you can’t see a thought doesn’t know art.” Wynetka Ann Reynolds     Thoughts initiate art. Thoughts of reflection, insight, and abstraction spur the artistic brain into production. This activity coincides with perception and planning. Shafts of light come forth and mingle with the thought particles. Colors sparkle and mesh with the… read more

  “Painting isn’t based on reporting reality so much as expressing opinions about it.”                                                 Don Andrews   This quote expresses and supports exactly what I was thinking when I painted an artwork… read more

  “I would like to paint as a bird sings.”                                      Claude Monet     How can this be, “to paint as a bird sings?”     –    Take joy in the moment. –         Be expressive! –         Appreciate the simple ways of life. –         Paint with a song of gladness in your heart. –         Sense the goodness… read more

“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”                                                          Vincent Van Gogh   Nature’s beauty exudes the similitude of a rich cantata. Ripples appear in the water as the waterfowl swim past. Rhythm by the long willow branches bobs in and out of the water gentle orchestrated by the wind. Water lilies herald… read more

“Paint in color but think in value.”                                                                                 Don Andrews     Value, the degree of lightness and darkness, when fused with a strong light source creates value gradation, shape definition, and cast shadows. Adding the fascinating reflected light values of an object to this mixture is exciting! Sometimes the reflected light bounces off… read more

“The soul becomes dyed with the colors of its thoughts.”                                                                   Marcus Aurelius      This could also be stated in another way: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”        as written in Proverbs 23:7 The Bible has much to say about this subject.   First is the importance… read more

  “An abstract painter looks at his world and extracts the essence.”                                                                         Pat Dews    Computer language speaks in simple terms: ones and zeros. As we know, this does not mean, just because it is simple, it has no value; on the contrary. Likewise, when the abstract artist paints the essence of a subject,… read more

“I have simply observed what the universe                                                 has shown me in order                                     to… read more

“When we report the landscape, we look out. When we interpret the landscape, we look within. We prune, add, adjust, regulate. We impose our thoughts and feelings on our subject… we become personal storytellers, rather than cold, impersonal reporters.”                                                                                 Don Andrews     I like that part about artists “…being personal storytellers…” For years… read more

 “Sacrifice everything in painting for unity.”                                       Ed Whitney    Unity is one of the principles of art design or organization. While it is true that repetition, harmony, balance, and the four other principles of art design are important, it is unity that has the greatest capacity to entice, to provoke, to involve, or to… read more

    “My advice: Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine. Go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God. Think of all the beauty that’s still left in and around you and be happy!“                                                                                                                                                       Anne Frank   Teenager Anne Frank lived in a horrendous time… read more

“Perhaps you have never thought much about color! But I promise you that color has more impact than you ever imagined! “                                                      Carole Jackson   The first thing that gets my creative juices flowing is the composition of the scene. Once that is in place, color is the next objective. Choosing colors is… read more

“Fearless painting comes from flexibility. Knowing that you can experiment and correct areas of your paintings will free you to become the painter you always wanted to be.”                                                                                             Susan Webb Tregay   This is a great quote because I LOVE painting in ACRYLICS for just this reason! There certainly is a freedom involved with… read more

“Painting: Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”          … read more

  “Leave the obvious vague but exaggerate the essential.”                            Vincent Van Gogh   For an artist, this quote is certainly food for thought. How does one incorporate this into one’s artwork? Is the essential the artwork’s focal point? Or could the exaggeration aspect relate to the overall theme of the painting? Is there a… read more

  “It hath been thought a vast commendation of a painter  to say his figures seem to breathe; but surely it is a much greater and nobler applause that they appear to think.”                                            … read more

“Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.”                                                                    Roy L. Smith   Discipline: we hear much about it, but what exactly is discipline? The Thorndike Barnhart Dictionary defines “discipline” as the training of the mind or character. The process of discipline is active and alive, as it moves onward and upward through… read more

  “Art must be parochial in the beginning to be cosmopolitan at the end.” George Moore   In the context of this quote, parochial means narrow or uncultured and cosmopolitan means common to the entire world. The quote refers to more than a superficial look at the process of creating art. At the onset, narrowness… read more

  “Imitation is not inspiration, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.”                                                                                    Albert Pinkham Ryder   Have you ever viewed a painting that literally took your breath away? Perhaps it was the shapes, the colors, or the drama that made you gasp. Possibly you even thought, “I wish I could… read more

At any stage of the art process, the artist can step back and view the work.   “Always ask yourself, “Is it dark enough? Is it light enough? What if I…?”                                             Robert Wade   “Perceptive Observation is: seeing with your brain, feeling with your eyes, and interpreting with your heart.“                                            Robert Wade    “Step… read more

Before beginning, take time to look inside yourself. This is important because whatever you put on canvas exhibits a part of your soul.   “Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.”                                               Anne Sexton   Let your mind wander as you imagine your ideas. Think BIG, think small, think movement, and… read more

“Exaggerate the color by adding more of it.” Vincent Van Gogh   This Van Gogh quote reminded me of my beginner’s class in watercolors.   The new students were afraid to use their paint. Coupled with the cost of paint, brushes, and watercolor paper, the fear of making a mistake with these supplies made them… read more

“We are not cameras. We are impressionists.”                                            Wendell Mohr   Famous Iowan watercolor artist Wendell Mohr was best known for his paintings of trains, ships, workplaces, and various city scenes. Abstracts and realism intermingled on his canvases. Wendell always said by adding abstracts to his work, he was adding the emotion factor. Although Wendell… read more

“If a man wants to be a painter, he should never look at pictures. “                                                         Winslow Homer   I am pretty sure by “pictures” Winslow Homer meant “photos.” We all know some artists who only paint by photos. It is as if they are afraid of not capturing a scene perfectly and precisely. Perhaps… read more

“Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, And the less the artist does the better. “                                                        Andre Gide   Collaborating with God to create an artwork… what is God’s part of the collaboration? He practically gives us a paint shop program, filled with myriad of colors, shapes, patterns, textures, values, selection tools,… read more

   Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire.”    What does the heart inspire?   To reach heights never known before.   To keep trying, though the odds are against you.   To learn what you thought was impossible to grasp.   The… read more

“Fine Art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together. “                                                                                          John Ruskin   Years ago I created a watercolor painting called “Spoons,” using all art knowledge I possessed. The technical portion included my use of tools, the elements of art, and techniques. I paid keen attention to… read more

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Gen. Colin L Powell   This can also pertain to creating art. On one end of the prep scale, there is no preparation. That reminds me an old abstract artist friend, who passed away last year. Joe always… read more

The artist within me has been influenced greatly by the artist Robert A. Wade who said:                       See with your brain.                       Feel with your eyes.                       Interpret with your heart.   I am an artist, a creator, an author, a poet, and a composer. When I was beginning to paint, with all the techniques,… read more

  You’ve been through years of preparation and hard work trying to attain a certain goal. It hasn’t been easy. Through it all, the years have been laden with responsibilities and other heavy burdens to bear. You’ve been steadily working towards the prize located at the end of the tunnel. This fulfillment of your dream… read more

  Got any rivers they say are uncrossable? Got any mountains they say, “can’t tunnel through”? We specialize in the wholly impossible, Doing the things they say you can’t do.  song of the Panama Canal builders       Isaiah 42:16 “…I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make… read more

Psalm 125:1  “They that trust in the LORD shall be as Mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abideth forever.”   Here is an old Scottish version of Psalm 125:1   Who clings to God in constant trust As Zion’s mount he stands full just, And who moves not, nor yet does reel, But stands… read more

  Several circumstances have allowed me to change my course in the spectrum sea of art. For years I have taught, promoted, and encouraged art in others, while in the background, I created my own art whenever I had spare time. However, I am embarking in a different direction, advancing to concentrating solely on my… read more

  Attitude in the dictionary is “a position or manner indicative of feeling, opinion, or intention toward a person or thing.” However, to an artist, there is a deeper meaning of the word attitude. Attitude actually presents life or death to an artist. How so, you may be thinking. What effect does my attitude have… read more

Many have asked me what methods I am using to re-train my brain to paint depth aptly. Remember that movie about Helen Keller, the famous American author and lecturer, who was deaf and blind? In the movie, there is a famous scene where Helen’s teacher Anne Sullivan and Helen are wrestling at the water pump… read more

  A dear fellow Creative Artist, Jean Parry, 90 years old, passed away June 29, 2011. Known as the “House Portrait Painter”, Jean specialized in painting and drawing houses and buildings on commission since 1984. She loved to travel and inspired many by her memorable scenes she painted in watercolors from her travels around the… read more

Regarding the choosing of art subjects, a good Artist Jack White quote is, “You can do anything you want to in life, you just cannot do everything you want to do.”   This quote goes along with one of Jack White’s fabulous soul-reaching stories. The tale has to do with an artist by the name of A.… read more

Today my day was a day of running errands, road construction, and detours, oh, and dust. I say, plenty of dust. Although summer has returned with 96 degrees and “the livin’ is easy”, errands take more time to accomplish.   Waiting is the norm when one-lane roads exist with flagmen (or flag women) directing traffic.… read more