Anything about art...

copying another work of art is a valuable learning device and helps the artist absorb lessons that cannot be realized any other way; just about every great artist "re-created" from compositions of past masters.
To "dead-pan" copy another work of art and present it as a finished piece is artistically wrong. To present it as one's own work is morally wrong; the equivalent of plagerism.
I wrote an artist statement for another artist who signed her own name to it. This teed me off; one ought to be credited for one's original ideas; this is the basis of intellectual property.

Vincent Van Gogh copied from artists' he admired and wrote this very wise statement (I can't remember it verbatum, but here goes..)...
"..an artist can copy the work of another and then should look at the difference beween the two works. Therein is the basis of one's own style..."

So I have adopted this idea that "copying" or I prefer "re-creating" from a great artist of the past as part of a search for my own style, and to examine closely what I find compelling.

Recently I was repainting a canvas that is so heavy with paint I fear it may fall off the wall. Being so disgusted with my many attempts and thinking I had finally finished it only to wake up in the morning to see that it was awful.

So I just squirted paint out of the tubes over the painting of the night before. While I was doing it I was thinking of Pollack and how much fun I was having. By the time I had finished fooling around it look right but was going to take forever to dry.

It is dry now, and untitled work, all my work is untitled, hehe. Anyway it turned out not like Pollack at all since I was not dripping paint from a brush but the colors used made it look like a Piet Mondrian. Except the colors were not in De Stile (sp).

Now I have a sort of Jackson Pollack/Piet Mondian painting. I just hope the paint does not crack and fall off like some Mondrian's.

Well now I am off to make furniture.

Nice technique, JoanneDorel! Could you upload a picture of the painting and put it in the original art forum?

Joanne - your description reminds me exactly of the work of one of my teachers, Richard Moxley Jordan. He works in brightly colored thick (somtimes feet thick with paint falling off) abstracts.

He says a painting is never finished, and the teachers joke that his are never finished because they never dry.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find examples of his artwork online.

I like that painting that never dry turned around means a painting that never stops evolving.

Tartarian sent me one of her old SLR's to take picks with but my first attemptes were dismal to say the least. To much light. Recently a friend said I should take the pictures outside using available light around 4o p.m. What do you guys think?

I like to take pictures on a day when there is no cast shadow but it is light (like a bright, cloudy day.) If you can't get one of those, being in the shade on a bright day will do. Try to have a consistent amount of lighting across the surface.

I'd like to see it Joanne and Portal's advice is good.

Portal how about posting some more of your work? and is that website done yet?

The website is not done, but some of my pictures are loaded into folders and you are welcome to look . The ones preceded by "H" are the largest. Except some in the commercial folder, which only come in medium.

Hmm... The moderators removed my website location, and took down any mention of it in posts.

I think this policy is going a little far. I know some people will shamefully sign on here to promote, but I am a seasoned member and have been discussing artwork. I personally think it is totally tasteful and appropriate to have a link to my website in my signature/location.

However, because I am not in charge of the rules, anyone who wants to see my artwork/discuss it will need to PM me.

I have been off line for a while my new old new computer was not able to handles broad band so now I have a new puter with lots of gadgets.

If I can find the CD I have of some paintings I will try to post them for y'all.

yay!