artistry | The Direction of Intention

DR Thursday

Posted on March 29, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

There is a lesson for me in this week’s morsel. It is a lesson I’ve learned over and over again. It is a basic, a fundamental and perhaps that is why I am once again revisiting this lesson: Focus (perception) is like a narrow flashlight in the night. Where you point it will determine what you see. And, most important, you choose where you point it. And, even more important, what you see is narrow, what you don’t see is vast.

Kerri chose this morsel. I marvel at what she sees and what she chooses for our melange and how it blows back and impacts what I see. This morsel, she calls it, “held in process,’ is a snippet of a painting-in-process. At Skip’s prompting a few years ago I started taking process shots and nowadays Kerri regularly dashes into the studio to make sure I’m taking my shots (“What do you have for me?” she asks, striding down the stairs). I delight in this particular morsel because, when seen in the greater context of the finished piece, it captures perfectly the lesson. It is like a popcorn trail of perception, an exercise in focus-choosing. Enjoy this morsel from the melange. Follow the trail to the final piece. Have fun shining your light on the morsel, Held in Process and on Earth Interrupted II.

the beginning layer, the under painting.

the second layer

pix#1 pix#2

next layers – my favorite: paper sack!

the finished painting: Earth Interrupted II, mixed media 48×34.5 in

HELD IN PROCESS merchandise

II earth interrupted FRAMED ART PRINT copy

wall art

kerri designs all of our leggings and apparel

okay, so, kerri designs ALL of our products. Cool iphone cases…

…and throw pillows! and more….

read Kerri’s thoughts on Held In Process

kerrianddavid.com

held in process/earth interrupted II ©️ 2018 david robinson, kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistic iterations, artistry, creative process, creativity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, design, earth interrupted, earth interrupted II, Held in process, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, morsel, painting morsel, process, product design, society6.com/davidrobinson, society6.com/kerrisherwood, technology, the melange | Leave a comment »

Chicken Marsala Monday

Posted on March 26, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

A Chicken Marsala thought-nugget from the melange to help you start the new week

Faith is one of THOSE words. So, as is my practice when wading into one of THOSE words, I look it up before writing about it. And, as is always true when writing about one of THOSE words, I find beautiful ambiguity within the proffered definitions. 1) complete trust or confidence, 2) strong belief based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Complete trust. Spiritual apprehension.

My life has taught me that truth (another one of THOSE words) can only be found within the paradoxes. If you can reduce something to a singularity, a black or white concept, something graspable, then it may be a rule or law but is never a container of truth. THOSE words point to deep experiences, the mysteries that cannot be fully grasped or squeezed into a container. Love is one of THOSE words, too.

We designate the first week of spring by a heavenly marker known as the equinox. Equal night. We look to the sky to understand the happenings on this earth. I’m happy to report that my first sighting of tiny green shoots breaking through the crusty earth in my backyard happened this week. The first sign of spring. The resurgence of green life after months of root-resting hibernation.

I couldn’t help myself. For kicks I also looked up the definition of the word apprehension. It smacked to me of being yet another one of THOSE words. Yep. 1) anxiety or fear, 2) understanding, grasp. Anxiety. Understanding.

Standing before a blank canvas I often feel as Chicken Marsala. I tie on the blindfold and step. Sometimes I step boldly with complete trust. Sometimes I step timidly with great apprehension. It is a full spectrum of faith. And, because I can never know (another one of THOSE words) the best I can do is practice.

cool FAITH TAKE PRACTICE merchandise [wall art, gift cards, tote bags….]

‘faith takes practice’ leggings

read Kerri’s thoughts on FAITH TAKES PRACTICE

kerrianddavid.com

sometimes faith takes a little practice ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Language, Uncategorized | Tagged: anxiety, apprehension, art, artistry, belief, chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, confidence, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, easter, equinox, faith, humanness, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, love, one step at a time, practice, proof, society6.com/chickenmarsala, society6.com/kerrisherwood, spiritual apprehension, spring, the melange, trust, truth | Leave a comment »

Two Artists Tuesday

Posted on March 20, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

A thought for your Tuesday from studio melange

The dividing line was approximately around the age of 40. It was a figure drawing session and those of us over the age of 40 came to the studio carrying pads of newsprint, drawing boards, pencils, pastels and vine charcoal. The artists under 40 came with a computer and stylus. It was a beautiful collision of the first order, both sides of the divide saying to the other, “I could never do that.” The younger artists referred to us seasoned (covered with charcoal dust) artists as ‘vintage.’

I am vintage. For me, making art is a physical activity, a full body dance. I need paint that splashes, brushes that drag across a surface, the smell and feel of the process. My canvases have always been large simply because I need to move. Art making, for me, is necessarily kinesthetic. It’s like splashing in puddles and playing in mud. The virtual equivalent is not visceral enough.

As vintage I will never be efficient or fast. I’ll never have the variance or range that digital process allows. That’s okay with me. I was born and oriented into the artist’s way looooong before digital wizardry. My parents provided me with a large wall and buckets of paint. That wall was a magic place, the portal to another dimension. Unlike the younger artists in the figure drawing class, I find a stylus and tablet physically limiting. The action is too small. What sets them free feels like a shackle to me. I love the dance, the mess, and the danger of not being able to insta-correct or click back to an earlier version.

To my digital descendants, my dust free successors, I AM the earlier version. We enter our magic place through different doors. And, that’s okay with me.

I AM A VINTAGE TYPE merchandise [leggings, totes, pillows, mugs, gift cards…]

read Kerri’s thoughts on I AM A VINTAGE TYPE

kerrianddavid.com

i am a vintage type ©️ 2018 kerri sherwood & david robinson

Filed under: Art, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: art making, artistry, classic, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, digital, earlier version, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, old school, rough draft, society6.com/twoartists, the melange, Two Artists Tuesday, vintage, vintage type | Leave a comment »

Chicken Marsala Monday

Posted on March 19, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

A Chicken Nugget from the melange to help you start the week

I appreciate the Chicken Nuggets – especially today’s – because I know the back story. Without knowing where these drawings with words came from or why we took the time to develop them, they could be tossed off as so much fluff. A nice sentiment. But.

What is it to stand in another person’s shoes? To understand the feelings of another? An other. Not me. Nice sentiments are rarely easy when put into practice.

There is a direction in Empathy. It is a reach toward an other. To reach out. To reach across a boundary, seen or unseen. To try. The direction is important to grock. ‘To understand’ is a fundamentally different thing, a radically different direction and intention than ‘trying to be understood.’ It suggests an openness to possibility, a willingness to consider. A shedding of the armor. It unlocks the magic of “what if….”

There is a big drum banging the opposite narrative – closed doors, closed ears, closed eyes. It is easy to believe that we-the-people are incapable of listening, that we are unwilling to consider and are only adept at shouting each other down. Putting each other down. Closing off. Closing down. But.

Take a walk today. Count the moments of generosity that you see. Count the times that others reach. Count the times that you reach. You might be surprised how different your actual experience is from the prevailing narrative. Human beings are, for lack of a better analogy, a pack animal. We run together. We die when we close-off. We wither when we turn in. No human being, if we are honest with each other, knows who they are absent of relationship with others. We know each other together. Reaching is what we most naturally do. We reach when we see others hurting. We open doors. We run into burning buildings, not for ourselves, but for the sake of others. It is infinitely more common to reach than to withdraw. Fear may demand a narrative of opposition, of irreconcilable difference, of standing alone in singularly righteous shoes. But, to believe it, you’ll have to close your eyes. You’ll have to disappear in the corridors of your busy, busy mind.

Today, do what is most natural. Open your eyes. Reach out. See what they see.

TRY TO SEE WHAT THEY SEE merchandise like gift cards, wall art, apparel,…

read Kerri’s thoughts on Try To See What They See

kerrianddavid.com

try to see what they see ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Seeing, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, Chicken nugget, consider, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, empathy, generosity, heart opening, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kindness, listen, open heart, open mind, Opposition, reach, reach out, see, see what they see, society6.com/chickenmarsala, the melange | Leave a comment »

DR Thursday

Posted on March 8, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

This is a confession: for these blog posts, for these DR Thursdays, I’m finding the morsels of my paintings – a slice, a small detail – infinitely more interesting than the full painting. It’s not that I don’t love the whole painting, I do. But the morsels are helping me to see the original painting anew. The detail is illuminating the whole. Also, the morsel is spinning my artistic dials. I suspect my visual exploration is about to jump the fence into new pastures.

Kerri calls this morsel Cityscape. It comes from The Bass Player, a painting pulled from the deep recesses of my archive. It comes from a time when I was in love with vibrant color and the work of David Hockney. The Bass Player has lived in galleries, and coffee shops. It hung for many years in a now defunct bar in downtown Seattle. More people have inquired about this painting than any other horse in my stable but it’s never found a forever home. I’m delighted that through this morsel, Cityscape, my colorful Bass Player has found another moment to step into the light. Who doesn’t need some color-pow! on a Thursday in March?

The Bass Player, 24″ x 48″

CITYSCAPE merchanise

THE BASS PLAYER reproductions

Purchase the original painting

read Kerri’s thoughts on Cityscape

kerrianddavid.com

cityscape ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

The Bass Player ©️ 2002 david robinson

Filed under: Art, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: art, artistry, cityscape, david hockney, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, paintings, Seattle, society6.com/davidrobinson, The Bass Player, the melange, vibrant color | Leave a comment »

Two Artists Tuesday

Posted on March 6, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Jim told me that he was suspicious of this culture that seems to need to plaster messages on the wall, on shopping bags, or indelibly tattooed on body parts. Begin Anywhere. Live Loud. This life is not a dress rehearsal. Peace. Home. “It’s too simplistic,” he says.

So. Brave.

Are we branding our lives, marketing our selves to ourselves? Are these ubiquitous expressions reminders? Encouragement? Aspirations? Desires? Statements of intent? Flags planted in the metaphoric sand? Are these flags too simplistic?

Joseph Campbell once said that to find more-than-ample evidence of the collapse of our unifying culture/story (our mythology) one need look no further than the daily news. Violence and division dominate our day. It is the seedy sensational story we tell to ourselves. It seems we’ve traded the commons for higher ratings. The common good falls apart in the face of the lobbyist’s payout. Can there be a center when another set of ubiquitous expressions dominate our dialogue: tribalism, polarization, fake news. Us. Them. Again, more flags planted in the metaphoric sand and are they also too simplistic?

On the stage, when actors have no direction and lose sight of the common story they might otherwise tell, they default to a condition lovingly (yet accurately) known as “Save-your-ass-theatre.” It is every man/woman for him/her self. It a group of artists on stage feeling isolated and all alone but pretending to be together. It is fear with a thin smile pasted on its face. It is awful to watch. And, it is easily remedied: save-someone-else’s-ass. Instead of pushing your drowning mate down so you can reach air, lift them up so they might breathe. They will immediately return the favor. Restore the commons. Step back into the common story.

The opposite of fear is not courage. It is community. Bravery is nothing more than the choice to stand in fear and reach. Cowardice is the choice to stand in fear and pummel. Fear that flourishes in isolation dissolves in the common story. From the studio melange on this Tuesday we offer the only flag worth planting in the sand: be brave enough to turn to the center. Reach. Help someone find air. Is it too simplistic?

BRAVE merchandise

read Kerri’s thoughts on this Two Artists Tuesday

kerrianddavid.com

brave ©️ 2017 kerri sherwood & david robinson

Filed under: Story, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, brave, common story, commons, community, courage, daily news, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, fear, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, mythology, polarization, service, society6.com/twoartists, the melange, theatre | Leave a comment »

Chicken Marsala Monday

Posted on March 5, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

“What do I see?” It is, perhaps, the most important and fundamental question any person can ask. Seeing is never passive. It is never pure. Interpretation begins the moment you open your eyes. The ‘see-er’ stories – gives meaning to – what is seen. It is a simple truth: the very act of opening your eyes is a creative act.

Every moment of our lives is new. What else? You have never lived this moment before. You will never live it again. We blunt ourselves when we tell ourselves the story of ‘same-old-same-old.’ We dull ourselves when we weave the belief that this day is routine, that this moment of life is nothing new.

We blur our seeing and muddle our moments by asking the wrong question(s): how do they see me? what do they think of me? These are impossible crazy-making questions to answer. They generate a directional challenge. It is not your superpower to determine what the world sees when IT looks at YOU – mostly because you can’t. The world is not looking at you. You are seeing it. IT is not giving meaning to you. You are giving meaning to IT. That is your genuine superpower.

The thought for today from the melange: open your eyes. See the new-ness. Create this moment as unique in every way.

THIS MOMENT UNIQUE IN EVERY WAY merchandise

read Kerri’s thoughts about this Chicken Marsala Monday

kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Seeing, Uncategorized | Tagged: art, artistry, chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, creation, creative act, creativity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, giveing meaning, interpretation, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, meaning making, moment, moments, perception, presence, seeing, seer, society6.com/chickenmarsala, story, storying, the melange, The Seer | Leave a comment »

Chicken Marsala Monday

Posted on February 26, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

If blocking your creative arteries is the goal then there is no better illusion to consume than trying to be perfect. Eating the idea that you can be free of flaws or experience mastery without mistakes is guaranteed to clog your capacity to move. Notions of perfection turn the imagination toward the fear-monsters and breeds an especially severe inner critic. Perfection is like the Medusa, give her your gaze and she’ll turn you to stone.

Imagination, creativity, learning, growing,…are words of movement. They are experiences of free flow. If investments like perfection crimp flow, then granting simple graces like trial and error, or “seeing what happens” will inevitably open the channel. Creative flow, like profound learning or wild imagination happens when inner-judges retire; it happens when nature is allowed to take its course. Nature is movement. Falling down is a necessary form of movement. Perfection is about appearances. Learning is about process.

From studio melange on this Chicken Marsala Monday comes this simple reminder. Try. Remove failure from the gallery of options. Get on the bike and ride. Expect to fall down. It’s the only way to learn how to stand up.

FALLING DOWN IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF LEARNING merchandise

kerrianddavid.com

check out Kerri’s thought’s on this Chicken Marsala Monday

Filed under: Art, Chicken Marsala Monday, Education, Uncategorized | Tagged: artist, artistry, chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, creative flow, creativity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, education, failure, falling down, flow, grace, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, learning, movement, natural process, perfection, process, society6.com/chickenmarsala | Leave a comment »

DR Thursday

Posted on February 22, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Nap on the Beach, mixed media, 22.25″ x 55.5″

“I paint the way some people write an autobiography. The paintings, finished or not, are the pages from my diary.” Pablo Picasso

I’ve been selling my paintings from my studio, un-stretched and unframed. When potential buyers come to my studio they view the raw canvas tacked on the wall or spread on the floor. Many of my pieces are big. It’s how I like to paint: big canvas stretched and tacked to the wall. These days when I ship paintings to another state, when I ship paintings to those courageous people who take the leap of faith and buy an expensive (and very personal) painting based on an image from the internet, I roll them. They receive the piece in a tender unembellished state.

There are practical reasons for my seeming-shoddy showmanship. It saves my customers money to stretch and frame the canvases themselves. The cost of shipping a large framed canvas is breathtaking! If I stretch or frame it myself, if I sell a painting through any gallery, online or brick-n-mortar, the cost is easily inflated by 70%.

But, that’s not why I show the unfinished edges. Before moving from my Seattle studio I had studio open houses. People inevitably drifted to the paintings stapled to the wall. They touched the edges. They asked me about the drips and marveled over the charcoal lines. They gently brushed the bumps of paint. They entered the story and became a part of it, they took on a role greater than witness. Instead of approaching art – my art – as an untouchable abstract thing, they engaged with it, questioned it, touched it. I loved it. Art is supposed to be accessible. It is supposed to open and say, “Follow me.”

Recently a client slid this painting, Nap on the Beach, from the pile of paintings stacked on the ping pong table, touched its complex surface, and, with Kerri, he held it by the corners saying, “Oh, this canvas is heavy! This one makes me yearn for summer!” And then he asked, “Did you take a nap on the beach? Is this about something you did?”

Yes. And yes again.

On DR Thursday, on your visit to the melange, I hope this painting inspires you to embrace the raw edges, the drips and bumps, and perhaps give over to a quiet mid-winter yearning for sun and sand and a spontaneous nap.

A NAP ON THE BEACH reproductions

framed art prints

canvas prints

A NAP ON THE BEACH original

read Kerri’s thoughts on DR Thursday

kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Art, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: art prints, artistry, artists, autobiography, beach, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, kerrianddavid.com, nap on the beach, pablo picasso, raw edges, society6.com/davidrobinson, story, the melange, unframed | Leave a comment »

Chicken Marsala Monday

Posted on February 19, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

High atop the list of obstacles we erect on our creative life path is this: I don’t know how…. As a coach, I heard it daily from clients. As a consultant, I heard it regularly from business leaders and educators (the pronoun changed: we don’t know how…) Artists regularly lock up in the face of a monstrous HOW?

When I was a young erector of massive obstacles in my path, Quinn would smile and say to me, “Nobody knows how. Just start.” I thought he was being flippant with encouragement but lived my way into recognizing that his advice was not only sound but it was sage.

Knowing how to do something is never a prerequisite for action. It is, however, a really good excuse to prevent action.

Knowing how comes second. Always. It comes after the fact, after the experience of trying and adjusting and learning. It comes at the end of the day, looking back. That’s when “how” becomes visible. Today’s Chicken Nugget via the studio melange is timeless and simple advice. It would make Quinn smile: sometimes the best thing to do is start.