I've been an artist since i could hold a brush.
i am always thinking about what painting really is. i recognize a painterly mark. an intelligent mark; a passionate, informed one. As well as a space that works, a painting that is resolved, and an underlying draftsmanship and coherence. how do you communicate that to someone who is unfamiliar with the territory? occasionally, i give illustrated talks where i attempt to address this question.
the age, sex, nationality of the painter don't matter. "subject matter" doesn't matter. beautiful marks that reflect the qualities i refer to above are rare and highly valued, and it is that integrity that matters.
artists who are part of that great fabric we know as the history of art revere and learn from those who have come before. the tradition of the "painterly," that visual tradition of the pregnant, lively, juicy mark, which is a shorthand for all of our visual world, seen and unseen, is one we can always draw on and infuse with the now.
looking at great art from all periods and locations at the metropolitan museum in nyc, the phillips collection in d.c. or many other of my favorites around the world is one of the things i love to do.
a franz hals sleeve, a vuillard patterned interior, or an 11th c. chinese landscape that strike me on a particular day can throw me into a revery, and continue to resonate for months.