Facets of Artistic Discipline: The Painting Schedule

This winter my studio has been so cold that it simply has not been fun for me to be over there and work. It is sort of insulated, and I have a space heater, but it is still freezing. So finally at some point in January I decided to just not do any work over. While I used to able to stand painting in a freezing place, or sweltering place, the older I get the less I can tolerate it.

So until I can better insulate the studio, or build a new one (preferably with a wood burning stove), I will reserve the coldest months of the year for smaller work that I can do in my nice, climate controlled office. By this I suppose I mean icons... and maybe some smaller watercolors.

One of the most important aspects of the artistic life is discipline. And part of discipline is knowing what to do when, and what works best in a given situation. That's what this is for me. I simply can't do my best work if I am physically uncomfortable, so there is no point in me painting anything in the frigid cold or sweltering heat. It will just be a waste of time, energy, and supplies, which is stuff that I cannot afford to waste! Best to paint the oil canvases during a more agreeable time of year.

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A Tale of Two Cathedrals

My wife and I just returned from vacation. While away, we got to visit the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, which had recently undergone a huge renovation. The last time I was there was to see the famous "Timla Relic" a few years ago. Unlike some horrific church renovations that have gone on in recent years that were supposedly meant to "update" the church, this restoration was meant to "return" the interior of the building to its original Federal-period design. And I must say that it a very tasteful renovation. They did a really good job. It looks almost like an old early Episcopal church - white washed interior, minimal designs, etc. The interior is now very bright because they removed the stained glass (dark blue Willet windows), and uncovered the original skylights in the dome. They kept all of the good stuff (the high altar, altar rails, etc.), and brought some cool old stuff back (e.g. the nation's first RC epi...

J.I. Packer's Remarks Regarding Anglo-Catholicism

Note: I have decided to delete this post since the link to the article is no longer working and since it has been revealed that J.I. Packer did not write it. JGA+

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The other night on EWTN, Fr. Benedict Groeschel proudly proclaimed that he had never stepped foot in the MoMA , because he couldn't stand looking at all of the ugliness and disorderliness of "modern art". Apparently while he was doing his doctorate in psychology he took some courses in art history and art criticism. I couldn't disagree more with what he said. There is definite order in modern art - it might just not be readily apparent with some artists. Certainly the early work of people like Frank Stella, Leger, and many others, is very rigid and ordered. There is even order in Jackson Pollock paintings as Francis Schaffer showed in How Shall We Then Live . And besides that MoMA has many other paintings in it that are done in a more traditional style that he would probably enjoy. For example, I believe now there is a show of Lucian Freud prints and Seurat drawings. So I don't know what father was talking about in that interview. It really makes no sense to me.

J. Gordon Anderson - Contemporary Art

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