Unanswered Questions About Art

Today I will be standing in front of a crowd of people at the Grants Pass Museum of Art (First Friday, 5:30pm). I’m showing a selection of works painted over the last 15 years of my life.

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keeffe

It’s a retrospective of sorts, and I have to admit that the organizing and delivery of this show has caused me to begin looking at my work, and even myself a little bit differently.

Questions come up. My big takeaway has been that I don’t have many of the answers yet. So I thought I would throw some of these questions out to you. You are an artist, or maybe you’re not sure yet. I don’t know if we’re ever sure. Why is art important to you? Tell me a little about yourself.

• What is it about the artistic process that keeps you coming back?
• What do you hope to gain from your art?
• How has art shaped your life?
• Why does art matter to you?
• How does it feel for you to be an artist?
• How does it feel to create art?
• Beyond the art itself, what do you get back when you create?
• How does it shape who you are being in the world?

Come see Prometheus – oil on linen – 72”x 60” – at the Grants Pass Museum of Art

• What is missing for you in this creative process?
• Are there tools that you feel that you lack?
• Do you feel seen?
• Do you feel understood?
• Does the idea of creating art stop you or inspire you?
• Do the people in your life encourage your creativity or dismiss it?
• What gets in the way of your creativity?
• Are there ideas that continue to come up for you?
• Have you acted on those ideas?
• What stops you from taking action?
• How would your life look without art?
• What is the cost of not doing your art?
• Is your art a curiosity or an obsession?
• If I were to check in with you in a year, what would you like to see more of in your art?
• What gives you pleasure and joy?

My career up to this point has been about the relationship I have with my painting. I paint what inspires me, what I hunger for, and sometimes, what I don’t understand. I have been fortunate enough to connect with others along the way who are likewise inspired.

Art is an incredible gift, but it needs to be honored and nurtured. It’s important for us to continually reevaluate our motivations. It’s good to ask honest questions about why we are doing what we are doing.