Following in the Steps

I have met artists who have dead eyed me and announced that they want to develop an uncontaminated style of their own, They avoid art classes and they dance to their own violin.
All well and fair, but that hasn't been the route that I have taken. I don't want to paint like a new found Mondigliani. Do I care? All I aspire to be is a good painter. Nothing more, nothing less. What others think of my style is their concern.

I delight in talking to artists whose work I admire. And, even moreso I troll their words for insights into how to become a good painter.

I posted this old truck because it brings to mind the many conversations I have had with Ron Morrison, a west coast, Canadian watercolourist.

You can find his blog along the right hand side of this page.

Ron specializes in painting, discarded trucks, car, sheds, and boats. Although the subject may not be everyone's baileywick, Ron brings to his painting his advanced mastery of colour. He's one of the best. His mastery of colour and his ability to use colour to create atmosphere and mood puts him in the upper league of watercolour artists.

The point of this blog, is not just to acknowledge the willingness I have found among artists to share the tools of the craft but to encourage beginners as well.

My suggestion to a newcomer is to draw from the rich resources of those who have gone before you. And hopefully the day will come when you will be able to hand back to those who come behind you the same gifts.