artistry | The Direction of Intention

Mix It [on DR Thursday]

Posted on March 21, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

palette copy

True confessions: I never clean my palette. I like the messy build up of color. I like the chunky texture. It serves as a gunky history of my work, a genealogy of paintings past. And then, over time, it becomes a tactile work of art in its own right. Unfettered by any of the mental gymnastics or over-ponderous considerations that plague my “real” work, it is the closest to child-mind that I will achieve. It is accidental. It is free.

This might be a stretch but it is, for me, nevertheless true. I love my palette because it is the place of alchemy in my artist process. It is the true liminal space. I begin with pure color. I smashed the pure color together with another color and transform it into a third color, the hue I intend. On a palette, color becomes intention. And then, once transformed, with a brush or knife I lift the color-intention from my palette and in an action that is often more responsive than creative, I place it onto a canvas. It transforms yet again relative to all the color it touches. An image emerges. More color is called for.

And, somewhere in this call and response of color, I become like the palette. The pass-through of alchemy, the door that color passes through en route to something beautiful. And, in the process, perhaps I, too, in my messy build up of life/color, grow closer to that child mind. Unfettered. Accidentally interesting. Free.

“You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough” ~ William Blake

read Kerri’s blog post about my PALETTE

untitled, mixed media 48 x 48IN

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: alchemy, art, artistry, child mind, color, creativity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, intention, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, metaphor, painting, palette, process, transformation, William Blake | Leave a comment »

Listen To The Heart [on KS Friday]

Posted on March 15, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

MISSING song box copy

This morning, sitting to write about this piece, I find that I have too much to say. Too much to say about missing and memory and delight and yearning. In trying to choose a thought-path I realized that all of my blah-blah would simply get in the way. My words will get in the way of this heart composition. I will only offer that this MISSING will lift you. It will bring a knowing smile. It does for me.

I will let this beautiful composition speak for itself. It is MISSING from Kerri’s first album RELEASED FROM THE HEART. Truly, it is from the heart.

MISSING from the album RELEASED FROM THE HEART is available on iTunes & CDBaby

read Kerri’s blog post about MISSING

missing/released from the heart ©️ 1995 kerri sherwood

Filed under: KS Friday, Love, studio melange, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, first album, heart, heart composition, kerri on cdbaby, kerri on itunes, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, memory, missing, released from the heart, society6.com/kerrisherwood, uplifting | Leave a comment »

Ask, “Why?” [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on March 4, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

guidance framed copy

I’m told that every evening of her life, Margaret would stop what she was doing, and go outside to watch the sun set. If she was on the phone she would hang up. If she was doing dishes she’d turn off the water. She’d step into her back yard and attend the setting of the sun. It was her ritual.

Last year, Kerri, my mom, and I took my dad back to visit the small town where he grew up. He wanted to live his life there but that was not to be. Now, he is sliding into dementia. Before his sun set he wanted to make at least one last pilgrimage to the place he’s always considered home.

I draw and paint. Not because I want to but because I have to. As far back as I can remember that has been true. The rest of this world seems like Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole. Mad. Illusory. Missing the point. I know what is solid and true when I step in front of a canvas. It’s a paradox, yes?

Why do people make paintings? Why do they compose music? Why are we tellers of story? Inventors of story? Poets? Budget makers and parents alike caution that there is no real value in the arts. They rarely make money. Money making as the ultimate arbiter of value makes for an empty world, indeed.

Why do people climb mountains, jump out of airplanes, or kayak over waterfalls?

“Why does she say, ‘guidance is eternal?'” Kerri asked. We were streaming an episode of Life Below Zero on the National Geographic site and the Boeing commercial came up for the umpteenth time. Amid images of advanced technology and machines that fly, the narrator begins a countdown, 10, 9, 8, guidance is internal, 6, 5,… “I think she’s saying that guidance is internal, not eternal.” We looked at each other. Either way, what a great phrase! Guidance is internal. Guidance is eternal.

Why do people step outside each evening of their lives to watch the setting sun? Return like salmon to their birthplace? Listen to the wind and run to their piano?

read Kerri’s blog post about GUIDANCE

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Merely A Thought Monday, The Direction of Intention, Uncategorized | Tagged: art, artistry, creating, creative process, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, eternal, eternal guidance, Guidance, inner guidance, inner voice, internal guidance, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, studio melange, value, values | Leave a comment »

Write The Essential [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on February 11, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

I’m not sure what stacks up around your house. At our house, the stacks are paintings, cartoons, designs, composition notes, manuscripts, folios, notebooks of ideas, scraps of paper jammed into the notebooks of ideas, lyrics a-go-go, and the supplies necessary to make the other stacks possible. Colored pencils, brushes, too many composition books, canvas, tissue paper, paint, sketchbooks, art books, and the stacks-and-stacks of stuff teetering on the piano and bench that somehow resemble a nest.

All of this is to note that we are fantastic generators of content and equally inept marketers of what we generate. Thus, the stacks. It was this realization – and the necessity of making a living – that one year ago gave birth to the melange. Melange means ‘mixture’ or ‘medley.’

The idea was simple: Monday would be dedicated to our cartoon, Chicken Marsala. Tuesday would be dedicated to our Two Artists designs. Wednesday was Flawed Cartoon day. Thursday was for my paintings. Friday was for Kerri’s music. We created a Society6.com store for each day, set about designing 5 product lines a week (oh, god,…more content). Through our blogs we’d write about and publish the day’s selection, he-said/she-said-style. People all over the world would read what we wrote, be captivated by the cartoon, design or composition, and race to the Society6.com store to buy a print or a mug or a laptop sleeve or a greeting card. Content out, income, well…in.

And, it happened. People all over the world read our blogs. And, almost no one raced to the Society6.com stores. We studied a few things, learned a few things, reconfigured, tried a few social-media-marketing variations, bought ad space, waved our hands, jumped up and down, danced silly dances – we pivoted and pivoted again.

Walk To The Other Side [on DR Thursday]

Posted on December 27, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

BlowingWishes Morsel copy

There is a ping-pong table in my studio that is piled high with paintings that are not yet stretched. And, because these paintings are constantly moving, pulled and tacked to the wall to be shown then placed back in the pile, they are stored with no particular order. This process of random stacking and re-stacking allows us to see the pieces from many different points of view; what was top is now bottom. It affords new perspectives, it helps me see again as if for the first time.

Pile It is such a simple thing and yet so hard to do – to let go of what we think is right, allowing a new perspective of something that we think we understand. The word I’ve learned to pay attention to is “think.” The skill of an artist is to see beyond what they “think.” The gift of the artist is to help others see beyond what they think. To pop open new perspectives and make space for new possibilities.

It is easy to confuse thinking (interpretation) with ‘seeing.’ They are not the same thing. It is so easy to believe ‘stuck thinking’ is ‘being right.’ It’s a good practice – a healthy practice – to spin things around a bit. To doubt what you think so you might have a more direct experience. So that you might see. So that you might learn. So that you might experience today as different from yesterday.

Life, as they say, is always found in the direction of not knowing.

Kerri calls this morsel BLOWING WISHES. It’s what you see if walk to the other side of the ping-pong table.

GREET THE DAY, mixed media 48 x 48IN (or bigger)

read Kerri’s blog post about BLOWING WISHES

greet the day/blowing wishes ©️ 2011/2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Seeing, Uncategorized | Tagged: artist, artistry, blowing wishes, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, doubt, greet the day, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, perception, perspective, seeing, seeking, society6.com/davidrobinson, thinking | Leave a comment »

Use 1000 Words [on DR Thursday]

Posted on December 20, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Horses Morsel copy

this may or may not be complete. 48″ x 48″ as yet untitled

read Kerri’s blog post about this PAINTING

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, new painting, painting, process, society6.com/davidrobinson | Leave a comment »

Make Space [A SALE on DR Thursday]

Posted on December 13, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

What art offers is space — a certain breathing room for the spirit. ~John Updike

I feel most alive when I am painting. If I’m out of my center, upset, in despair, feeling blue, or swimming in a pool of self-pity, the quickest cure, the best medicine, is a trip to the studio. Life makes sense there. The conversations I have with canvas are not always easy but they are always generative. Love is like that.

And, like most artists, I love to paint but feel utterly inept when it comes to selling what I paint. Introverts are notoriously lousy salespeople. Inevitably, things stack up.

Give me a museum and I’ll fill it. ~Pablo Picasso

I am at least one museum short and need to clear some space. In the old days I would burn paintings, paint over them or give them away but nowadays Kerri would kill me if I tried any of those space-making strategies. Dying at my wife’s hands to create space seems counter-productive. She suggested A Sale.

The days you work are the best days. ~Georgia O’Keeffe

My best days are yet to come. A new wave of inspiration is rolling in.

One’s art goes as far and as deep as one’s love goes. ~Andrew Wyeth

When you visit my site, you’ll see that I’ve listed some minimum prices. If you see a painting you love, reach for it. Make an offer.

The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense. ~Pablo Picasso

And so. Love runs deep. It makes no sense. The best things in life never do.

The No Sense No Space Sale.

read Kerri’s blog post about THE SALE

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: art sale, artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, need space, no sense, paintings, society6.com/davidrobinson | Leave a comment »

Sail The Silence [on KS Friday]

Posted on November 9, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Albert used to come by my studio each evening and pick me up. He knew me well and feared my studio solitude. He’d take me to a coffee house and sit with me until I recovered my capacity to converse. He’d wait until I was capable of crawling out of my silence. We’d laugh when I finally “returned.”

He was right to fear. I didn’t know at that time that the work of an artist – the real work – is to comprehend and navigate their silence. To sail the immensity. We live in this odd age of the individual so an artist’s life is often like solo spelunking. So many get lost in their caves – as I almost did – or their fame (same thing).

My brother-from-a-different-mother recently directed a play. It was a great success. He wrote in the midst of his play’s triumph to tell me how hard he has to work at giving himself any credit. He wrote, “It’s amazing to think how *surprising* that might be for non-artists…” Silence, as he knows, is vast. It is bigger than any single person. When a work of art comes from the vastness it is nearly impossible to claim it. I didn’t tell him that his wrestling match is the mark of a mature artist. How do you claim the ocean or the universe? Success for an artist, unlike the success of a dentist or business person, is an infinite game.

Kerri’s SILENT DAYS could be the soundtrack for the infinite game, sailing into the immensity of the silence. She knows its yearning and awe and brings it back to share with us. I tell myself that she composed SILENT DAYS so others, unfamiliar with their silence, might catch even a small glimpse of life in the boundless places.

SILENT DAYS from BLUEPRINT FOR MY SOUL available on iTunes & CDBaby

read Kerri’s blog post about SILENT DAYS

Filed under: Art, Creativity, KS Friday, Uncategorized | Tagged: artist, artistry, blueprint for my soul, creativity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, music, silence, silent days, society6.com/kerrisherwood, solo piano, success, vastness | Leave a comment »

Figure It Out [on KS Friday]

Posted on November 2, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

figure it out songbox copy

Sometimes I am surprised at the memories a piece of music evokes. While listening to FIGURE IT OUT I was propelled way back in time into a specific moment, an acting exercise Jim Edmondson led with actors in the company at PCPA Theaterfest. It was an exercise in belief. He told them to imagine that their toddler had wandered away on the campus and was lost. “Find your child.”I watched Lisa, a terrific actress, tear across the campus calling out her child’s name. Searching, desperate. She was so committed that campus security came. People left their administrative offices to help with the search. She created belief. She brought us into her play. Jim stopped the exercise before the search for the imaginary child got out of hand.

It is the power of the artist. To pull us into a common story. To propel us into our distant past. To open possible paths forward, to stand in a shared vision. To help us across the boundaries of time and space and belief.

FIGURE IT OUT will propel you. The only question is where Kerri, through FIGURE IT OUT, will take you?

FIGURE IT OUT on the album RIGHT NOW is available on iTunes & CDBaby

read Kerri’s blog post about FIGURE IT OUT

Filed under: Art, Creativity, KS Friday, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, belief, creativity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, figure it out, imagination, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, pcpa theaterfest, right now, studio melange, the melange, the power of art | Leave a comment »

Look Back [on KS Friday]

Posted on October 19, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Every artist has a root. They stand firmly on the shoulders of other artists that inspire and inform their work. They have experiences that color their expression. Every artist walks a seeker’s path. They, of necessity, stand at the edge of their village so they can 1) see clearly the machinations of their community, but more importantly, 2) they serve as a bridge to help their community across boundaries of time and space, providing necessary access to the unseen world, the greater things that cannot be grasped in law or calculation or bought with currency. Inspiration. Ancestry. Purpose. Love. Soul. Aspiration. Perspective. Hope. Possibility.

It is a happy accident that for this week’s Studio Melange Kerri shared a new piece of music, YOU’RE THE WIND, a song never before recorded, while also choosing this piece for KS Friday, WHERE I’M FROM, recorded over 20 years ago. It traces her path. It speaks to her sources.

WHERE I’M FROM is an appropriate title. It is a reaching back, recorded before Kerri met broadcast constraints and the squeeze of the music industry’s labels (New Age) expectations. It radiates innocence. It took me back to my childhood, transported me to carefree days in the sun, mountain meadows, games of four square with the neighborhood kids, my dad teaching me to ride a bike. She took me across the boundary of time, she helped me touch my source, a visit to where I am from.

Take the time to let this artist hold your hand and take you across the boundary, back to your source, to touch for a moment the greater things that live beyond the day’s achievements. Let her remind you of all that truly matters as you turn and look back and visit your mountain meadow and perhaps, as I did, appreciate the riches of the life that you’re living.