I heard Tony Scherman speak at the IEA retreat yesterday. His talk was a mixture of mathematical concepts, philosophy, painting techniques, and autobiographical references interwoven with a backdrop of images of his paintings. I first saw his work when Stumbling I think. I don't remember finding it in connection with anything specific I was doing or looking for. When I saw the work I just thought it was beautiful - so ephemeral and painterly all at the same time. It didn't hurt that the splash image was of a work he did of Kurt Cobain in a series called "The Junkies."
He talked about how it felt when he first mixed pigment with the wax and saw it spread and melt. He explained how the first paintings he did, of Napolean, didn't feel complete until them staring back at him felt like when you look in the mirror and really "see" yourself for the first time. He talked about how important it is for artists to sell their work so that they feel the love flowing back into them for doing the work.
I'm still processing everything he talked about. I know it will have a profound impact on my work - I just don't know how yet.
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