It is never easy to change—even when we know it is in our best interests. Old ways are deeply learned behaviors that have become embedded in the very fiber of our beings. It is incredibly hard to let go of even just a small piece of closely held self-concept. I know you all know this. […]

As most of you know I’ve begun a new series of paintings I’m calling The Micaceous Series. A reader of the blog, Grace Kane, calls them my earth paintings and she is so right. I am making them with earth and straw, the recipe for adobe. The longer I live here on this land, the […]

Because it can be somewhat intimidating buying your first art supplies when you begin to paint (not to mention overwhelming, confusing and expensive), I offer here a list of materials to get you started (this is for acrylic, although most of these colors are available in oils and watercolor as well). I recommend the following […]

If you’re one of my students reading this right now I know you’ll chuckle to see me writing any kind of “how to” piece on making art. That’s because over all my years of teaching I have discouraged my students from reading or even looking at “how to paint” pieces. My reason for this is […]

From the very beginning, whenever man has found a moment he doesn’t have to devote to survival, he looks around, gauges the distance, assesses the world, does this against himself, against his temporal weakness. At first, those moments must have been fairly direct, profoundly simple, reactions to silence, to budding beauty. He must have felt […]

My friend, photographer Craig Scogin (previous posts Not Really New… Not Really Mexico and Craig Scogin On What Is Art?), offers his views on why art is important. All photographs in today’s post were shot by Craig. I have been asked why art is important. I had written about history and culture, healing and humanity, […]

Why is art important? As I’ve pondered this question, I’ve realized there is no way I can depersonalize my answer. I honestly can’t say why art is important to another but I can express my experience. I would love to get your thoughts on the subject and, as with the earlier question about what art […]