Deliveries leading to Inspiration!

Some podcasts and paintings for you...

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I had to deliver a few pieces to my gallery in Charleston, Meyer Vogl Gallery, this week. I’m really busy in the studio so having to depart from the easel for anything is tough. Although, when delivering new work, I’m always excited by the promise that holds, it’s still a difficult departure from the work at hand. To keep my mind ‘artsy’, I was listening to a number of podcasts on my way there and back, a 5 hour drive in total. (A lot cheaper than shipping a 48”x60” painting.) Two of these podcasts stood out as not only informative, but very inspiring. They did the job of keeping my head in painting while away from my easel. So I thought I’d share them with you this week.

You may be familiar with Seth Godin and Clark Hulings already, but may not have heard some of this before. I hope that you find both interesting and inspiring, like I did.

Clark Hulings-Archetype of the Independent Artist - This is one of the podcasts that I listened to on my drive the other day. For practicing artists, it’s loaded with some nice bits of information about how one artist handled his art life.

When I was groveling in the gutters of cheap, sometimes homemade easels, trying to understand how to make a brush stroke like I wanted it to be, I remember seeing the work of Clark Hulings show up at various auctions, galleries, magazines and shows, mostly in the West. Of course I began paying attention to his work, which made my own journey seem even more hopeless. Seeing a major exhibition of Sorolla’s work ( 1990 St. Louis), following a week long Richard Schmid workshop the year before, didn’t help either. Back to Clark, he continued to amaze me with his impeccable draughtsmanship, the subjects of his work being mostly people doing their own work, from around the world, anywhere he had spent time traveling. It wasn’t cowboys and native american stuff, it was sometimes present day, or it was from a time when he was present in that day. Might be Mexico, Louisiana, Turkey, Italy, Egypt, Ireland or Switzerland. Where ever his paintings were staged, he painted “the people” and not the extravagance that existed in those places. Then I ended up being able to buy his book pictured above, simply titled ‘Hulings’. It is a beautifully presented gift to all of us showcasing his work, talking about his life, and his first person account of the experience involved in each painting he included in it. There is a foundation, the CHF Clark Hulings Foundation. For any artist, this is a great resource to look into. I’ll share these links and let you all take a look.

Their mission statement: “OUR MISSION: The Clark Hulings Foundation (CHF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes the legacy of American painter Clark Hulings (1922 - 2011) by equipping working visual artists to be self-sustaining entrepreneurs. Founded in 2013, CHF showcases Hulings’ life and work as an example to today’s artists, and offers them a comprehensive art-business education so that they can thrive as he did. We deliver a suite of integrated learning services continually, both virtually and in-person—via live events, digital channels, and portable media formats—and build professional networks of opportunity.”

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Now for the real nitty gritty… Seth Godin. I find his philosophy refreshing and enlightening, if not a little scary to consider. If you know who he is, you probably understand what I mean by that. If you don’t, consider listening to this podcast to find out a little about him. His book The Practice: Shipping Creative Work, is not about literally shipping work, necessarily, it’s about doing the work and all else that’s involved. My partner, Dottie T. Leatherwood, introduced me to Seth’s work. I’m reading The Practice now.

Here’s the podcast link if you’re interested in listening to a very good conversation about being a Painter or an Artist.

Seth Godin: Are You a Painter or an Artist? ( Paint Juice Podcast )

I’ll leave you with a couple of the paintings that I delivered to Meyer Vogl Gallery this week.

Thank you for reading.

Happy Painting,

Marc

IN THE SHADOWS - oil on linen - 48”x60”

LOOKING ACROSS, SILENCE - acrylic on canvas - 24”x48”