Visual art is where my creative journey began, dating to drawing superhero comic books when I was a kid. As a teenager, that evolved into the dream of being a renowned painter. But my will was not as strong as the dream and I rationalized failure with delusions of "artistic integrity" (code for laziness and lack of focus). In short, man cannot succeed on talent alone and, even then, one must continually evaluate the depth of one's own talent.
For many years, in all my creative endeavours, "artistic integrity" was a failsafe scapegoat for not realizing my creative potential. Like the pathetic rejects on American Idol, it was much easier to envision judges who weren't "feeling me" or a public too unsophisticated to appreciate my genius than it was to actually put in the required work.
In his book Story, screenwriting guru Robert McKee, brilliantly encapsulates the hit and miss approach taken by most aspiring screenwriters and the solution. First and foremost: Learn your craft. In other words: you must learn to walk before you can run.
Year after year, I flailed paint at canvasses, bashed away at my guitar and pecked at my typewriter while working at other unfulfilling jobs to make a living and bemoaned my lack of artistic progress. It wasn't until I experienced what could possibly be construed as a mid-life crisis, that I started to truly appreciate what needed to be done if I ever hoped to actually achieve my creative goals. By that time, I had decided my number one creative priority was writing, so I got into the journalism business. Hundreds of thousands of published words later, I may not be a ground-breaking author, but I have certainly become a competent craftsman.
It is this newfound clarity of purpose that inspired me to revisit the craft of painting. No longer encumbered by dreams of grandeur, I can diligently go about the business of creating, be satisfied with the journey and see where it takes me.
As for artistic integrity, I've come to learn it's about being true to yourself, not some esoteric philosophical rhetoric.
Last Geese on Echo Lake
Acrylic on canvass board, 2007, 9 X 7
Northern Lights over B-Say-Tah Point
Acrylic on canvass board, 2008, 7 X 9
Forest Fire
Acrylic on canvass, 1999, 36 X 48
Hangover Pierce
Cedar, 2000 Pine, 2000
Shameless cross promotion department (artists I know):
Michael MacLean
Sculpture, painting, erotic art, gay art, First Nations, native
Johanne Morin
Fine artist, pastel painting, wood burning, wood sculpture
Dave Rheaume
Very cool