Degas, Woody Allen and my Humble Studio in Austin.

"My art, what do you want me to say about it?  Do you think you can explain the merits of a picture to those who do not see them?...I can find the best and clearest words to explain my meaning, and I have spoken them to the most intelligent people about art, and they have not understood; but among people who understand, words are not necessary, you say humph, he, ha and everything has been said."  Edgar Degas

I recently watched Woody Allens "Midnight in Paris" for the first time (and after a long wait).  It was everything I hoped it would be and more.  I have been in a massive state of creation lately with a new body of work and it was a perfect film to offer me a bit of reflection on a few of my artistic hero's.  I am always looking for films that can coincide with a "creative binge", films like ones that Julian Schnabel,  Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Wes Anderson, Michel Gondry, or Charlie Kaufman/Spike Jonze would create.  Woody did not disappoint me.  So often I become like Gil and completely disappear when I enter my Paris (my studio).  I often find myself in moments where I am discussing art with my dead peers, sitting for a moment in my pink studio chair and talking to Andy, Jean-Michel, Franz, Rothko, Cy , Degas or many others whose books line my bookshelves'.  I get what Edgar is saying in the quote at the beginning of this post.  The greatest moments for me while painting are when am talking with my artist peers and moments where words don't need to be spoken.  A look, a nod or a snear, a laugh or a grunt speak volumes and encourage the moment where the brush meets the canvas.

So as I continue to master my craft as a painter, I look forward to the silent moments I spend with my hero's and search the quiet for answers and guidance as I move with the rhythm and dreams of one day becoming like them.

Some of my influences....

This is from the final episode of State of the Art, a series of documentaries about the visual arts in the 1980s [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foerFJqupYM]

A piece done on Rothko that I really enjoy.  The music is perfectly fit, performed by Daniel Giorgetti

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN1yuAoQp0k]

(This post is also on the Veritas blog.)

I just came across this today on the Blue Tower Arts Foundation blog, I am surprised I missed the episode.  Julian is an Artist that I admire not only for his painting but for his films.  He is one of my major artistic influences.  If you have seen Basquiat, Before Night Falls or Diving Bell and the Butterfly and missed Schnabel the painter, then you need to do some research and view his works.  

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sajnloTFvU&eurl=http://bluetowerarts.wordpress.com/2008/12/16/julian-schnabel-on-60-minutes/&feature=player_embedded]