Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Art in the new year


Today is the second last day of 2008 - a day to reassess the previous year and look to the future years. It is so easy though to forget the day we are in and live for these two. It is a cliche but always worth a reminder that plans are just that - plans - they are not a reality that we live in. Today - here at the keyboard - is my reality. As I sit here the washing machine rumbles, the sun shines in a clear deep blue sky and the wind rattles the windows. Today is a painting day.


Despite the preceding I have plans for 2009. A new plan is for an exhibition at the end of the year in Brisbane and participation early in 2009 in a group show in Melbourne. It is the second time I have exhibited in Brisbane and the first time in Melbourne so I am looking forward to that very much. Images of the works I will send to Melbourne are here.


I have been thinking lately about Monet's art philosophy. For him his art governed his life. It became more than a "depiction" or a response to his landscape. He didn't demand of himself that he convey a message via his art. He didn't see it as his purpose to embody a concept in his line, colour and forms. These were things placed on his art from the outside by theorists who were placing him in the line of historic movements. The human need for order dictates that we place people, including artists, within an explanation.


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