Carpentry- funding for my art

Today I'll be working on a fireplace surround. My craftsmanship as a carpenter is admired because I bring to the job the same set of skills as I do with art. Art is more than just an idea but the ability to make something with interest and visual quality.

What looks good is a basic human emotion just like sound can be good or bad. Within any culture the aesthetic appeal of art makes humans feel good.

Is there any better reason for doing a good job?

Working harder for less

Tyler Green at MAN on Chuck Close

How much time should it take to make a painting or sculpture. Is the value determined by the quality or the skill? Does the complexity of the image matter?

Our culture judges everything by the speed at which it is done. We seem unwilling to pay for skill or craftsmanship. If it can be made to look like stone but made by a manufactured process in half the time that's ok. Is this the movie set culture.

What it takes to make a sculpture

A figure is made by developing an idea. The subject can be almost anything. Allegory, genre, classic or realism. Visual myth making, story telling or an iconic figure. Realism respects the actual way people are not an idealized vision. Working from life with respect to the finite differences between the human species.

A figure is made of clay, with or without an armature for support. The form of the sculpture can be either naturalistic, grounded in the expert knowledge of human anatomy or abstract, working with the general form and finding the expressive movements. Each artist needs to find his or her own voice or style.

Working artist

Welcome

Did you make a painting or sculpture today? If not why not? Is there something that keeps you from your love of art?

I haven't made a new sculpture for some time. I've been working to make enough money to pay my bills. I am a skilled craftsman and have found that it is easier to do carpentry for others than sit in my house and sculpt. This is not what I went to college and grad school to become. The dreams of my teens have past. Is this my fault or am I a product of a culture that has lost interest in a form of art? My family can't support me and I seem to have few friends. Those that are close don't buy art.

What is success without payment?
Charlie