How Important Are the Arts?

I got that question this morning during a live interview at a gallery opening in Denmark. It was an honor to be part of the opening exhibition even though we are in different countries and different time zones.

How important are the arts? this reminds me of my father's comments as I pleaded with my parents to go to art school. He said. "What good is art? You can't eat it or wear it?

My answer to the question today was something like, "Without art, life is colorless"

Here are some other artists' quotes; "Art is art. Everything else is everything else." Ad Reinhardt

"Art is lies that tell the truth." Picasso

Perhaps my favorite quote, at least for today;   "A great artist...must be shaken by the naked truths that will not be comforted. This divine discontent, this disequilibrium, this state of inner tension is the source of artistic energy." Goethe

I am sure not only artists feel the divine discontent. It is what we do with that discontent, isn't it?

I was discontented with this painting several years ago and I destroyed it. The image popped up on  a post from Pinterest. Someone had saved it. I thought, "Wow, that was a good painting. Why did I not let it live?"

encaustic. I may try to re-create it.

Scamers At Work. Artists Beware

Here is the painting that was selected for "purchase" I am surprised that a more expensive one wasn't chosen

Artists, particularly artists new to social media must be aware of an old scam that pops up every so often in our inbox.

Here is the first one I received this week:
Hello
i'm John Owen from North Carolina. You are doing a really great project in your artworks images. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your art piece online with my laptop,shes an art lover and can see she has interest in your piece.well I was also amazed after seeing your various works too. I would love to receive further information about your piece of work. I am interested in purchasing a piece to surprise my her,so kindly confirm me about the artwork available for sales. best regards
John.

I responded that all information is on my website:www.ezshwan.com

His next email:
 Hello:Ezshwan
Thanks for the message, however, I would
greatly appreciate if you could possibly recommend a few completed
original piece within my budget $450- $2000 ready for     immediate
sale... Just need something within that price   range for a surprise
to my wife (can tell she likes your   work). I would appreciate if you
can figure out a piece     of     work that would serve that purpose.
Kindly email   images and prices of any available works in that
range.   Thanks  and blessing John

Blessings !!!. I don't think so.
Next:
Thanks for the message,  I must tell you I intend to give my wife a
surprise with the immediate purchase of the piece. Also If you'd like
to know, I'm relocating to the Philippines soon and our wedding
anniversary is fast approaching. So I'm trying to gather some good
stuff to make this event a surprise one. I am buying the art work
Luscious Lips, oil and cold wax 16 " x 16" of $575

as a gifts to her.I'm okay with the price, I think it's worth
it
anyway, so I'll be sending a check.

As regarding shipping, you don't have to worry about that in order not
to leave any clue to my wife for the surprise. as soon as you receive
and cash the check, my shipping agent (who is also moving my personal
effect) will contact you to arrange pick-up.

I would have come to purchase the piece myself but, at the moment, am
on training voyage to the North Atlantic Ocean (I'm an ocean engineer)
with new hires who are fresh from graduate school and won't be back
for another couple of weeks.

Regards,

John

PS: In the meantime, kindly get back to me with your full name (you
want the check payable to) cell phone no. and contact address
(preferably for Usps ,fedEx not P.O box) where a check can be mailed
to, so I can get the check prepared and have it mailed out to you
right away.

Of course I  knew it was a scam and played along with it to see how far he would go. I wrote him that I only accept PayPal payments and after a couple more emails, he gave up. Since then I learned that fraudulent or stolen credit cards can be used on Pay Pal. What I should have done is contact the FBI and reported him.

Some unsuspecting artist do fall for these spamers and are usually sent a fradulent cashiers check for more than the price of the painting, are asked to send a check for the excess amount back to the "purchaser" and end up losing quite a bit of money money, and often a painting .
 

Recogition is nice

 Click below to see the short article about my my work in a local online magazine. It is nice to be recognized for all the years of showing my work in Mexico

http://loccal.org/articles/2015/december/ezshwanwinding.php  

Here are some more images from that series: all oil and encaustic on cradled board.

::

Life Drawings

 Here are some sketches from more than a year ago when I was able to work from a model once a week. There is nothing like working from life, and an important exercise if one wants to work figuratively.

Conté crayon on tinted paper

Conté on tortilla paper.

Click on the link below to see more drawings.

http://www.flipsnack.com/mx/my-flipbooks/details?flip=ftcf63jpg

Process of new paintings

I have been able to spend an hour or 2 in the studio the past few days. It helps me to take my mind off the itching and pain of this disease. I am moving into the 4th week of shingles with little change and I need to have a reason to get dressed every morning.

The sunset painting as under painting still shows

The first couple of layers of oil must be fused into the encaustic to make a permanent bond.

Changing faces

Perhaps I didn't take a long enough break from the studio. I want to break out of past painting habits and create something new. I'm not there yet. I will keep at it.
Here is the older painting that I thought was boring and the one I painted over it. I have included the video of the process. Seeing my work in photographs, I can more easily see the weaknesses.

https://youtu.be/4by1GHqZ2xI

oil and cold wax

oil on canvas - better, but still not right

Face #49

Tomorrow I will post the last face in this series. I am glad I cut it down to 50 faces rather than the original 100 I had planned. I haven't become tired of it. It has been an interesting challenge to keep the images fresh and not over worked and still capture a likeness. As always, the eyes are important to me. I like painting them and feel as if I am looking into the personality of my subject.

Playing Hooky

Practically no time was spent in the studio yesterday. 

Everyday Sunday, early in the morning, I go into centro to the meditation center for our weekly group SRF meditation. I get home around 10:30, have breakfast and then my daughter, Cynthia Hamilton, and I go for a visit and vegetable gathering in our neighbors' garden. Liz and Kath are a great couple and we have so much fun sharing stories after our harvesting.(check out Cynthia's blog. You do not need to be a vegetarian to enjoy it."http://cynthiajhamilton.blogspot.com/

On Tuesday afternoons I am giving drawing lessons to a young Mexican man, Luis, that Kath and Liz have taken under their expansive wings. He is talented, but lacks drawing skills. He is eager and willing to learn and I am sure he will soon have the eye and hand cordenation necessary to make good drawings of faces.We are doing a trade for all the vegetables we can carry in 3 baskets from this beautiful huerta.

I did work at least 30 minutes in the studio, stopped for a delicious comida and then got ready for a delightful evening with neighbors in a fairy tale garden. This day is a reminder that there is life outside the studio.
 

Kath picking green beans

The last of the lettuce. It is huge and sweet

One of the perfectly round beets we brought home

enough squash for several meals

laden baskets

End of the Day

The table started to fill

Ahh. A wonderful end of a lovely Sunday

Wisdom of the Ages

I finished this face Saturday. This woman was the star of a show I did quite a few years ago. At that time I painted all Mexican woman using encaustic. Almost everyone of the paintings of her has sold, so I added one done in oil to this latest project.

Memoir available for 6 days, Portrait #37

http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Memoir-Fireworks-Dawn-ebook/dp/B008G371SC/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426451248&sr=1-3&keywords=ezshwan+winding 

The book is available for download for 99 cents for 6 days, if you are interested.

I am losing count of the number of faces I have finished. I keep recounting and I realize that I have finished about 40 paintings, so the end is in sight. I still can use a couple of really good, clear, large photos, with good contrast, no dark glasses or huge grins. I am tired of painting teeth.

This one is #37

Thirty Three out of Fifty Faces

I bought more boards and have to paint them with black gesso. I then will have all the boards prepared.

I finished # 33 today and have 5 more started.

More people are asking to buy their portrait, and of course they are available for purchase at $425 U.S. plus shipping. They can be purchased before the exhibition in June. I can go ahead with the book just with the final photos.

Fifty Faces - #31 process of a portrait