art | The Direction of Intention

Let It Catch You [on DR Thursday]

Posted on November 8, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

a morsel of Earth Interrupted IV: shadow of division

Sometimes you have to stand still to let what you seek catch up to you. Kerri said that to me one day. Her words found their way into me and then became a poem and then the poem found its way into a painting, Earth Interrupted IV.

This week the painting found its way into a morsel for Studio Melange. A wisdom inspired a poem, became a painting, became a morsel called Shadow Of Division. Today, it becomes a post. Which, I am sure, will inspire another poem or a song (anything is possible in our house).

Art begets art. The well of possibilities is bottomless. And, rather than chase the possibilities as was once my strategy, I am learning to stand still. A wisdom, a poem, a painting, a morsel, a post about cycles and all things life giving.

Earth Interrupted IV, mixed media 48 x 36IN

read Kerri’s blog post about SHADOW OF DIVISION

My favorite thing about shadows? They blend divisions. They make cool new and surprising shapes out of seemingly separate things. Transformation is so simple and just a small shadow away.

shadow of division/earth interrupted IV ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: art, art cycles, artists, creativity, cycles, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, earth interrupted, inspiration, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life cycles, meaning making, peom, poetry, possibilities, shadow of division, shadows, society6.com/davidrobinson, stand still, studio melange, the melange, wisdom | Leave a comment »

Laugh Together [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on November 5, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

pt barnum quote copy

“Why don’t people care?” I frequently loop back to Stephen’s question – asked so many years ago – about art. He’s a prolific and gifted painter. I have so many responses, mostly contradictory. Everything from ‘People do care, it’s just inaccessible,’ to ‘Why should they care, it’s so personal to the artist (not communal, not inclusive) that it’s not accessible.” The common word in all my inner-Stephen-musings is ‘access.’

My pot was irrevocably stirred during my time in Bali. There, the arts are practiced in the temple – a place, the central focus – for everyone and everything in the community. Every aspect of life is rooted-in and practiced-through the temple. That is to say, all things are still considered sacred – even and especially ‘the arts.’ As sacred, the arts belong to everyone, not just the artist or the elite who can afford it. They are accessible because they are not a possession, they are a sacrament. Additionally, the temple does not stop at the end of the compound. The whole world is the temple. In this temple, the arts serve as the binder, the carrier of the story that holds the treasure of the community: its identity. The arts are not only accessible, they provide access. They affirm belonging.

In this temple, through this sacred story, laughter is highly valued. Laughter, foible, whimsy, – all reminders that, 1) we should not take ourselves so seriously, and 2) laughter is a potent force, like gravity. It joins us. It cuts through division, turns fear into powder. It provides perspective. Laughter is the sound of appreciation, the music people make together when worshiping the great mystery of life.

read Kerri’s blog post about THE NOBLEST ART

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Identity, Merely A Thought Monday, Uncategorized | Tagged: appreciation, art, Bali, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, happiness, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, laughter, life, pt barnum, sacrament, Sacred, studio melange, temple, the greatest showman, the melange | Leave a comment »

Do A Rough Draft [on DR Thursday]

Posted on October 4, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

the field in early october: a morsel

I love seeing artists’ rough drafts. One of my all time favorite art exhibits was the hundreds of drawings and sketches John Singer Sargent executed en route to his painting, El Jaleo.

I’m more interested in the process than the final piece. I’m more captivated by the search than the find. That includes my own work as well. For me, the final painting is less a finished piece and more of a pause in the conversation.

It bothers me when a curator tells people what a painting is about or what the artist intended. I’ve squirmed many times during openings of shows when the gallery curator, introducing my work, tells people what my paintings mean. It locks people out. It prevents them from having THEIR relationship with my painting. I squirm equally when the work is not mine. I want a more pure experience.

To me, art is a doorway to the sacred, to the deeper things that words often cannot reach. It is a passage back to the beginning, to the fingerpainter, the child freely playing – prior to the time when a judge is planted between the painter and the piece, the painting and the viewer. That is where the riches are. And in that place it is all a rough draft.

read Kerri’s blog post about THE FIELD IN EARLY OCTOBER

like what?

a field in early october/morsel ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: art, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, el Jaleo, fingerpainter, john singer sargent, judgment, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, painting, purity, relationship, rough drafts, Sacred, seeker, sketches, society6.com/davidrobinson, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

Art. Love It. Own It. Fall 50% Off Sale.

Posted on September 1, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

FALL50%OFFSALE copy

September 1 – 16

It’s easy. Peruse the collections. Pick your piece. Love the sales price. Contact us.

www.davidrobinsoncreative.com

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Art, Uncategorized | Tagged: #oldschool, 50% off paintings, analog, art, art sale, canvas and paint, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, old school, painting sale, paintings, wall art, who cares | Leave a comment »

Open, Open, Open [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on August 20, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

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

The first time Jim, one of the most brilliant actor/directors I have known, played the role of King Lear, he told me that he didn’t have enough colors in his paint box to do the role justice. He had more to learn.

It is the common thread and what I love about all the great artists. mentors, and teachers that have had so much impact on my life – they know there is always more to discover. They know that ‘it’ – whatever ‘it’ is – is unachievable. So they look, engage, experiment, play, expand, reach, open, open, open…. Artistry is a life-long practice. It is a relationship with life.

“No one sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t got time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” ~ Georgia O’Keefe

read Kerri’s blog post about THERE AREN’T ENOUGH CRAYONS IN THE WORLD

www.kerrianddavid.com

like us on facebook

there aren’t enough crayons in the world ©️ 2016/18 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Chicken Marsala Monday, Creativity, Uncategorized | Tagged: art, artistry, artists, beauty, chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, colors, Crayola, crayons, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, expression, Georgia O'Keeffe, heart, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, mentors, relationship, seeing, society6.com/chickenmarsala, studio melange, the melange, time | Leave a comment »

Unleash Your Crayon [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on August 6, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

“…art is a staple of humankind – never a by product of leisure or elitism – and so urgent, so utterly linked with the pulse of feeling that it becomes the singular sign of life when every other aspect of civilization fails.” ~ Jamake Highwater, The Language of Vision

Many years ago I was excited to move into a new studio. Many people in my circle responded to my news in the same way: “Oh God! That’s too much pressure! Now you’ll have to use it!”

I wish I could say that I was dumbfounded by the common response but I wasn’t. As a coach, I wish I could count the number of clients I had who spent many hours and huge dedication of resources to fulfill their dream of having a studio – only to fear walking into it. They thought the lack of a studio was the obstacle and discovered that the real challenge was the banishment of their imagination, the leash they’d placed on their full expression.

Taking off the leash is a daunting affair. It means facing the reasons the leash seemed necessary in the first place. An imagination placed on a leash does not go away, it turns to dark imaginings. It eats itself. It separates. It isolates.

Art is not something that can be approached through reason. It is much more essential, much more primal than intellect alone can reach. It is accessed through the heart door. The intuitive knowing. Yoda would call it the force.

So, thankfully, the leash cannot be taken off by thinking about it. Experience. Express. Follow. Listen. Feel. Breathe. Reach. Do. And, feel some more. In feeling, in an unbridled imagination, there is connection. There is possibility. There is expansion of spirit and capacity. There is – and this is the power of art – the force that creates community.

read Kerri’s blog post about UNLEASHING THE POWER OF YOUR CRAYON

www.kerrianddavid.com

unleash the poser of your crayon ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Chicken Marsala Monday, Creativity, Power, Uncategorized | Tagged: art, artistry, chicken marsala, Chicken nugget, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, essence, essential, expression, freedom of expression, intuition, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, power, primal, self-expression, society6.com/chickenmarsala | Leave a comment »

Read The Back [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on July 31, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Nothing I paint on the front side of this canvas will be as interesting, as vital, as curious, as the note that Duke scrawled on the back. It’s a mystery story. Duke has been gone for a few years now and his son, our dear 20, brought Duke’s canvases to me. Treasure upon treasure. For some reason, one day, Duke dipped a brush into black paint, flipped his canvas around and left us a note. An impulsive celebratory act on New Years Eve? Or, perhaps, in a moment of disbelief of world events, he scribbled his note in sarcasm?

Of course, there’s another possibility- and this is my bet – ‘Welcome to the 21st Century’ was the name he gave to his painting, the image that he created on the front side. He didn’t like it so he painted over it. He returned the canvas to white space, opened it to new possibilities.

That leads to an even greater mystery. After scrubbing the image, he flipped the canvas around, dipped his brush one last time into the white paint, scrubbed the date (3/93) but left the title. And in quick broad strokes for emphasis, framed his title, transforming it into a note. The back of the canvas becomes the front. A title transformed into a message.

I feel as if I’m having a conversation with Duke. The painting I created on the front side, on the white-space-possibility that he reopened, is one of my Earth Interrupted series, number 7. It is ironic or, perhaps, poignant? Put his title and my title together: Welcome to the 21st Century: Earth Interrupted. Apt, yes?

earth interrupted VII, 36 x 48IN

read Kerri’s blog post about WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY

www.kerrianddavid.com

welcome to the 21st century/earth interrupted ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Gratitude, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: 21st century, art, artistry, artists, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Duke Kruse, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, legacy, mystery, painting, possibilities, society6.com/twoartists, studio melange, the melange, Two Artists Tuesday | Leave a comment »

Ponder [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on July 23, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Socrates famously said (according to Plato), “The un-examined life is not worth living.” Too true.

All of my great teachers and mentors where ponderers of life. They were artists. Pondering life is essentially what an artist does whether their pondering shows up as a painting, play, dance, or musical composition.

For me, the best time and place to ponder is while looking into a starry sky. There is no greater perspective-giver than infinity. Once, while sitting on the porch at the ranch with Tom, watching the stars emerge, sipping wine, he said, “You could never paint that.”

I said, “I wouldn’t even try!”

“He smiled, “Sure you would. What else is there?”

read Kerri’s blog post about PONDERING LIFE

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Art, Chicken Marsala Monday, Creativity, Uncategorized | Tagged: art, artistry, chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, examined life, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life, perspective giver, plato, pondering, possibilities, society6.com/chickenmarsala, socrates, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Be In Serenity [on DR Thursday]

Posted on June 7, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

I flipped a page and came across the notes I jotted during my last call with Horatio. I can’t recount the entirety of the conversation – it was vast. But the few notes I captured seem to say it all: Art is about the unity place; it is meant to pop open that place in people, or remind them…. Artistry is the realization of one-ness. It is a walk to the center of compassion. And, it is dangerous. It challenges boundaries. Danger and compassion are linked.

Art is necessarily dangerous. It absolutely challenges boundaries. It asks hard questions. It won’t cotton a lie (propaganda is not art). It points to common ground, shared experience and universal understanding – all things that require border crossing. It brings audiences to shared breath, relationship, the place of compassion. It requires the artist to show up unprotected and the audience to reciprocate in kind. In that space serenity is possible.

read kerri’s blog post about In Serenity

www.kerrianddavid.com

In Serenity, 46x30IN mixed media

www.davidrobinsoncreative.com

Filed under: Art, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: art, artistry, boundary, compassion, danger, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, DR Thursday, in serenity, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, serenity, society6.com/davidrobinson, studio melange, the melange, unity | Leave a comment »

Prayer [on DR Thursday]

Posted on May 17, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Naming paintings is problematic for me. I’ve never been good at it. Sometimes I bristle at it. People project their own meanings into the images I paint (as it should be) and sometimes the name I’ve given the piece gets in their way. A favorite quote from a Joseph Campbell lecture: “If the artist doesn’t like you he will tell you what the painting means.” At openings, when people ask me what the painting means, my standard response is, “What does it mean to you?” I like most people though most people dislike my standard response.

Nowadays Kerri helps me find names. I ask her what she sees. We talk about the paintings and usually a phrase or name that I like floats to the top.

This one is simple and obvious. Prayer. One who looks inward and entreats.

PRAYER gifts and cool stuff like wall murals