INSPIRATION won't happen if I just sit here.  If I am not INSPIRED at the moment to do a painting, say for an up coming show or competition, I need to take action.  This is painting time in the studio not goof off time.  So I need to prod "INSPIRATION" a bit.  How do I prod INSPIRATION?  Sometimes by looking at the beautiful work of other artist's one will be INSPIRED.  But, in the past, that usually has lead to a lot of time wasted browsing the pages of art books and magazines.  Then if an idea comes it is usually to paint something along the lines of the fine painting in the book I'm looking at.  For me that is not really INSPIRATION.  In fact I find it depressing.  So here's what I do.  Since, in the studio, I am both the boss and employee (I like that) I'll assign myself the kind of painting I'm going to do (portrait, landscape, etc.).  Then, say it's a landscape, if the weather is good I may step outside and look for an appropriate subject.  Or I will look at reference photos I have collected of landscapes.  I keep in mind NOT to look for the perfect picture, but for something of interest in the photo.  Then I'll go ahead and get started with a loose oil sketch.  Usually by the time I start placing paint on the canvas my mind has been stimulated in the painting process so that INSPIRATION  is beginning to take hold.  If it has not yet I know from the past, if I keep painting, it soon will.  So if, today, you need to get busy painting but are not yet INSPIRED, start prodding.  It's painting time! 
Best wishes, Jerry

I'm thinking that a good philosophy of life should be "Simplify". There are always things to make life more complex.
Details to work out. Fine points, rough edges, "i"s to dot, "t"s to cross. Why go looking for the complex? It will show up at the door anyway. I tell my workshop artists to leave out the details as they begin their paintings. And avoid getting distracted by details as the painting progresses. A subject for a painting can seem so complex that it feels impossible if one looks at all the details in the scene. But if we "simplify" the shapes, colors, and values the thing becomes do-able. Another reason I like to avoid those complex details in the beginning and middle is that it is not unheard of for me to place something in a spot that later turns out to be not the right spot. Yes it's true! And if I have put in a lot of time and effort on details in a area that needs relocation do you know what will happen? I've seen it happen time and again. The "details" won't let me move them! I will try to re-arrange the rest of the painting to avoid messing with those precious "details". I tell you "details" can be rude and bossy. Wait until the very last to invite the details in. Keep It Simple Stupid.someone told me. So, my advice for today is "Simplify".  

Usually I paint five or six days a week (sometimes seven). When I miss painting for more than two days, as on a holiday weekend, I can see and feel the difference. The painting will go much slower and have more corrections than usual. Recently the house needed some repairs that used up about three weeks. When I got back to the easel I felt like a kid on the first day of school after summer vacation. I had gotten "Rusty"! To shake off the 'rust" I do a few quick oil sketches. I'll use what ever is handy. It may be something around the house or any reference photo. The subject is not so important. What is important is that I get back to work (and back up to speed) in the studio. Like the athletes stretching and limbering up their muscles or the musicians tuning up their instruments, I'll "limber up" and "tune up" with a few oil sketches (how do surgeons limber up?). Here is one of the sketches I did after the long break working on the house. The oil sketch is a lot of fun to do and is a quick way to get back the skill level I had before taking a break. So, if you've been unable to paint for a while and are feeling "rusty", do a few quick oil sketches and get back to work. Best wishes, Jerry

  During the making of any painting there is an order that usually follows in a logical manner.  For instance tone the canvas, sketch the composition, apply paint-fat over lean.  When I'm toning the canvas that is my focus.  At that moment it is the most important aspect of painting to me.  The same goes for sketching, color mixing, brush strokes, edges....etc.  Whatever I'm working at has full attention (as it should).  However, more and more I find "location" to be my most valued tool in paint application.  Location of the point where the darkest shadow will be, or the corner of the barn, the eye or jaw shadow.  The location from which all references will be made.  "The chief corner stone" ,so to speak, that anchors the rest of the painting.  This is, of course, part of the composing process.  The locating of the objects on the canvas.  I have in the past chosen a "general" area for this or that and ended up moving things a little here or there.  What a waste of time and effort!  If this happens on just one painting it is no big deal.  But multiply by several hundred and you see my problem.  So now I make a special effort to get my first "locating" dot of paint in the correct spot.  You probably already knew that didn't you?  I love it when I think I've learned something.  Best wishes, Jerry

   It seems like the economic down turn has effected everyone I know.  Certainly galleries, artists, art material suppliers, frame material suppliers...well you get the picture...are all finding ways to cut corners or tighten belts.
Admittedly there are times I am too focused on the things I "want" or things I think I "need" but can't afford.  Yet I find there are always others in worse circumstances than I.  Many an artist has wished for a benevolent collector to come along and rescue them from the poverty their love of painting has created.  How about a White-Knight to put food on the table or a coat on the kids.  Since there are many less fortunate than I, why don't I become the White-Knight to them?  By donating artwork to "fund raisers" an artist can help the many in need.  How many paintings sit in the studio that could be used in this way?  Better yet, how about doing an exceptionally good work to be auctioned off for a charity or an individual?  I may not be wealthy, but I am a few rungs up the ladder from someone.  We can reach down to help others take another step up.  Best wishes, Jerry     

    Having a good foundation of understanding of your craft is essential.  I was reminded of this while listening to my step-son play his guitar.  Beautiful melodies, interesting chords, abstract runs up and down the frets can be heard through out the house when Ethan is home.  However it wasn't long ago that he was working on the task of pushing one string down with enough pressure to get a clear note.  So far as I know there is no shortcut to playing the guitar.  Practice and study build knowledge.  Grasp the fundamentals before going on to advanced concepts.  I find the same application in oil painting.  The fundamentals: proper use of materials, color, composition, lighting, shadows, values form the painting,  As our knowledge increases we begin to add other elements of concern to the act of painting.  The awareness of edges, color temperature, highlights or the lack of highlights, surface texture, atmosphere, even the choice of subjects is effected by our progress.  In my workshops I stress "painting with understanding" because for so long I painted to make a "nice picture" without knowing how or why one painting was "nice" while another was "excellent".  When I viewed an especially interesting painting by another artist I would wish I had painted it instead of seeking to understand how the painting was made interesting.  (Has that ever happened to YOU?).  The desire to gain understanding of the "what and why" of oil painting is now as much a part of my work in the studio as is the act of making an oil painting with which I'm satisfied.  As my understanding increases my awareness of the yet unknown looms in front of me.  The more I know, or think I know, the more I realize I don't know.  Well, so much running off at the mouth.  I need to get to the easel.  Best wishes, Jerry         

   A recent article by Lori Woodward Simons in Clint Watson's newsletter "Fine Art Views" mentioned, among many other things, the work of artists "before and after".  One of the greatest times of encouragement I received was when  an accomplished seascape artist courageously showed some "before" paintings.  Rare is the paintier who's first work is as good as his (her) paintings after some years experience.  Realizing the artists we admire were, at one time, just starting out.  Just developing their craft.  Learning, growing, maturing in abilities and understanding.  Most of us had help learning to ride the bicycle (maybe we even had "training wheels").  At one time was Vermeer just getting the hang of paint?  Did Michelangelo work at grasping the "sketch"?  Could Leonardo Da Vinci have had "training wheels"?  Which do I enjoy most, the satisfaction of turning out a "good painting", or the satisfaction of a new insight (knowledge)?  It's just about a toss-up with me.  But I think I lean a little more towards the getting of understanding. "Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding" (Proverbs 3:13) is definitely true in oil painting!  Hang in there.

  We're always trying to improve.  Athletes, musicians, artists trying to get better at their craft.  If you were to tell a class of high-school art students what qualities to look for in a "good painting" how would you word it?  Is there criteria, regardless of the category (abstract, impressionist, realist, etc.), that could apply to a "good painting"?  
I'm constantly trying to gain understanding in the oil painting process.  The insights come as I work.  Painting constantly is a must for continued growth and I can see growth in my own work over the years.  As with many oil painters, I'm less happy with older work than more recent paintings.  In fact paintings that I thought "good" a while back can be an embarrassment now.  Is a "good painting" a personal best for the moment?  The history of art has many "masters" unappreciated at the time they lived.  Then to be labeled "Genius" years later.  Is a "good painting" then a product of current norms.  Like todays fashions, slang expressions, cars and sports teams is the title "good" movable?  That is to say...to be removed and placed on the next approved recepiant?  It's time for me to quit talking and get to work.  So I'm off to pick up a brush in search of a "good painting".  Best wishes, Jerry  

Clint Watson put the question to artists about buying photos to use for paintings.   Photos, like other research information, can give the painter greater understanding of a subject he, or she, is unable to view in person.  Animals, children, people in action can't sit still for a painting.  Try to get a sunrise or sunset to "hold that pose".  Nothing gives us insight more than being there.  However, we can't be everywhere to see, feel, hear, touch all things.  What we can do is paint as often as possible from life to gain knowledge of shapes, light, shadow, etc..  Then apply that knowledge when we need to use the information found in a photo.  Richard Schmid has spoken of this several times when, after having painted a subject many times in similar lighting, he could use a reference photo to duplicate the experience.  The resulting artwork gives the viewer the sense of having been there.  The problem I find with photos is they want to be the boss.  The painter can get caught up in trying to put everything in the painting they see in the photo.  The photo screams for duplication!  So the question I must ask myself is what is my reason for painting? Is it to recreate a photo or to create a beautiful painting?  Sharing photographic information, like sharing technique or material information, is another way for painters to grow.  I say bless those who are willing to get the information out there.  

  In an article by Lori Woodward Simons <woodwardsimons.com> Lori brings up the subject of an artist's weaknesses.  It struck home.  I have long had a weakness about keeping horizons level.  I'd be unaware of a tilting horizon until I stepped back for a better look.  I noticed my photos also had the same slight down hill to the left leaning.  No big deal you say.  What if I deliver a painting to a customer and they (or worse yet their friends) bring the tilting horizon to my attention?  Like the sign painter that runs out of space for his lettering, I have egg all over my face.
What kind of oil painter am I anyway?  Did the customer make a big mistake in purchasing my painting?  How can I paint with this egg on my face?  So I look for weaknesses.  I'm very conscious of horizons when I'm painting (and taking photos) now.  So I go hunting for my painting weaknesses (usually I don't need to look far).  If I'm not working on a painting for a show or client I'll give myself exercises to challenge my abilities.  Those exercises sometimes are the inspiration for new works.  Overcoming (problem solving) is much of the pleasure I find in the painting process.  Look for those "weaknesses" and find where you need to build strength. The quality of the paintings will improve and no more egg on the face.