Another blogger

All right, here goes. My first blog. Do we really need another? I dunno, maybe I need it. I don't really know how to begin, but first some thoughts. The title: the view of an artist, there's the start. I'm going to make this about art...my art, how I approach it, how I do it...what I think about it. I want it to be a teachable time. I've been considering doing classes to share what I do with those who might be interested in furthering their art, and this is going to be the first step in that process.
         Am I qualified? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm going to proceed as though I am. Anyhow, I do have a perspective about it, and I'm going to share that perspective and hope that maybe somebody is interested.
          Who am I? An artist. What does that mean? A lot of different things, but to me it means that I create. I create images... hopefully very emotive images. I also build things, and make music. I love to make things and that makes me an artist. Am I trained? No, I'm not. Am I a professional? I've sold a few paintings, so technically I guess so. No, it boils down to this: I am an artist because I believe that I am. I would paint, whether there is an audience to view it, or not. This is what I do:



           I just finished this painting today. I spent about eleven hours to complete it. I poured my heart and soul into it, I'm passionate about it, I think it turned out great. But if I didn't feel that way about it, if it sucked like nothing else, I would still be an artist, I would still face another blank canvas another time and try something new.

           They say that art is in the eye of the beholder, and that is true. This painting might be a pile of crap to one person and the very vision of heaven to another, that's the way it goes. But I want to convey the idea that what matters to your art is you, not the accolades that others can bestow upon it. I want the freedom to believe this about myself, and I want that for whoever else dares to be an artist. Yeah, being an artist can be daring. I'm trying to make a living doing this, not an easy propostion. I'm scared that I'll fail miserably, but whether this succeeds or not, I do know one thing: I am an artist, and you can't take that away from me.