Art is not a One-Night-Stand
Painting: Together again, 30×40, oil w. epoxy resin, framed.
Art is more like a long-term relationship. Art is the joy of creating. Art illustrates the importance of connecting. Art requires patience, heartfelt devotion and tireless dedication.
Like any relationship, fullfillment comes when all these elements come together.
Living the life of an artist is a choice for me. Perhaps a calling. It calls me to the present moment. We tend to move from past to future, always onto the next thing. Making art is the demand to be present, to take the risk of not knowing anything, of experimenting. It is deeply humbling.
Collecting art is also a matter of the heart. Let’s forget about economics for a while… can we?
The selection of art is a very personal experience. Trust your instincts. Look for art that is high in quality and a depth that will radiate over many years.
Art is a life long commitment.
Where sky meets Earth , oil canvas, 55×65
[SinglePic not found]Paradox and Hair on Fire
I don’t know about you, but these days my reference points are disappearing. What used to work, no longer does. The old familiar ways are loosing its grip. Even the past seems to be just that; past.
The paradoxes of life are clearly visible in my creative process, in the studio, in action. Integrating the dance of paradoxes.
Dancing between stability of composition and fluidity of movement. Lightness and depth, freedom and control of the medium and tools . My paintings come in bursts. I have to trust this great dynamic that I am part of.
Trust, that this all things unspoken can somehow be conveyed through suggested lines, fragments of text and layers of paint.
Live like your hair is on fire, yet in a state of total ease!
Thanks for the inspiration from great artist like Cy Twombly.
A thousand ways to kiss the ground
I listend to a Brahms concerto yesterday – Symphony No.1 in C minor.
The piece startled the musical world of Brahms’s time and was well received despite its depth and absolute seriousness. Brahms was able to capture deep feelings in music that show inventiveness in style but never violate the basic principles of composition.
As in the visual arts the ability to feel deeply and express directly is imperative.
My german father came to mind, who had always scolded me: “You are too sensitive!”.
Decades later I remain grateful for the gift of sensitivity, the ability to listen with every cell of my being. Feeling with the heart, not just reacting from an emotional place. Forget about technique, forget about your troubles, forget about money. Let go of your reference points and next time life offers you a chance to feel deeply – take it!
Allow yourself to dissolve in the present moment. Enjoy the silence, your own depth of being and your life.
I would like to share this short video with you, the ending is amazing….
Again, thank you to all the many comments from you encouraging these personal writings!
The creative Process
Gerhard Richter in his creative Process
I have been contemplating the creative process, what does it mean and how can we live it? Well, if I get really down to it, EVERYTHING is the creative process. Life itself, every movement its own expression. But if we look at it in the context of art, there is great joy in seeing someone else in the process.
When we look at a piece of art we resonate with, we can feel the energy, it is more than the visual experience. Or doing it yourself. That feeling when everything else just falls away and there is a sense of presence.
When I am in that ‘zone’, the work flows confident and without hesitation. One can see it in each brush stroke. I have learned to listen. Just quiet, and the next step comes naturally. Well, mostly…..that does not always work. Sometime I struggle with the painting to reach another level of depth, sometime I just paint over it. White. Start again.
The painting is just like life; just more concentrated and visible. Know when to step back, when to move forward with bold strokes, when to make a small adjustment with great tenderness.
“The meaning of life is creative love. Not love as an inner private sentimental emotion,but love as a dynamic power, moving out into the world and doing something original “ My favorite quote….author unknown.
COURAGE
I have been thinking about courage lately.
Courage: — the ability to do something that you know is right or good,even though it is dangerous, frightening, or very difficult (per dictionary).
It takes courage to be real. Courage and a great sense of vulnerability at the same time. With abstract work there is no framework of a realistic image. Only the moment. That inner calling that seeks to find a truthful expression. Quite a ruthless process at times.
My best work happens when I don’t care, but am fully present. Perhaps Self doubt is the artists biggest an enemy.
Time to get back to my large canvas, titled: The Middle East
. Dipping the brush into blood red thin oils. It is not pretty.
Thanks to the man in the suit for posing unknowingly in front of Rothko’s masterpiece.Berlin National Galeria, 5 years ago. Read more >>
TOAST?
TOAST
It came to me at 3:30 in the morning. The word I have been looking for, that hold everything. The word that holds up my new series of Graffiti. Graffiti on large panels with silver leaf. weeks of work in preparing the art, laying the fragile leaves of silver, covering everything with epoxy resin. The look that represents the finer things in life: the riches,the one %. Combined with the rawness of the street.
The word is TOAST.
1. Toast one of the most undervalued simple things in life. Toast, warm. Bread. Survival.Eat.
2. Toast politics, washington, politician scrambling, economic turmoil everywhere. Systems are now, well: TOAST. Enough.
3. 
Toast not quiet ready to toast to a new beginning. But we like to.
The Great Collaboration: integrating Art & Architecture
After looking at social networking with mixed feelings for a while …..well, I have decided that there is nothing more rewarding than creating something together that is close to our hearts. Truly, I wish to take my new ‘connections’ and to collaborate, team up and work together on a creative endeavor.
I believe it is time to step forward to a new level of creative collaboration, broaden our visions, and integrate our knowledge, energy and creative resources. At this point I like to introduce you to the ArtDoors and invite you to take a look, step forward and offer me your feedback.
Perhaps we can engage in something meaningful, like the integration of Art and Architecture.
Sargam Griffin: Illumination
Illumination
Hours pass,and , as always when I least expect it, there’s a sudden tide of light as the sun crests the mountain. When the first rays flood the fields,
the thin yellow curtain behind me brightens, and the room swells with light. Everything is suddenly golden and illuminated,
and for just that one moment, I make the glorious and forgivable mistake of thinking it has something to do with me.
Come see us in Berlin at Galerie am Ratshaus on August 19 7-9pm for the Grand opening!
