What for? How come?

Color is like cooking. The cook puts in more or less salt, that’s the difference! ~ Joseph Albers, (Sensational Color)

Color Swatches done with ink and  colored pencil
Teaching Color is not Akin to doing Color, Hendricks © 2020 

Concerned with the practical intent, I mean by choosing a width of a pen, or the softness of a pencil, or the shade and color of a pencil and how it reacts to a substrate. I set about doing a series of studies using the media that I am fond of at this moment. I stumbled into some articles discussing the intent of the artist. Yes, the intent of the artist is important, but… is it important to the audience. Does the work have to be explained by the artist? 

I know why I am drawing and studying the various software that I am, but I am on a path… and as a great hike, I don’t know the adventures, disappointments, wonderful sights, and joys  I will enjoy along the way. I know that in some way, it is a spiritual quest, one that will give me insights both in the conscious and unconscious realms.  

Whether or not it is important, I have to reveal; I believe in something, maybe you can call it God, that is up to you. That belief and my current self combines and presents itself in my artwork. If you have followed my work, you know that I have studied and learned to question what reality is, and I know that we as humans only experience a minute fraction of that reality actually is. For the moment, I am focused on Creation, Chaos, and Order and letting that present itself in my work, as feeble as my efforts might be to let that occur, I hope you both enjoy and allow yourself to explore what I see. 

Author: Bill Hendricks -- Shadowmason

I’m a Minneapolis-based artist working in watercolor, gouache, oil, drawing, and mixed media. After teaching art and design for many years, I returned to making art fully. These days, I spend my time drawing, painting, experimenting, and paying attention to what shows up. I often work small. My work moves between observation, memory, and imagination. Some pieces lean surreal. Some stay close to what is seen. What interests me is what begins to emerge when I stay with the work long enough. On my blog, you’ll find both my artwork and my reflections. I’ve come to see they are connected. What I learn in the studio often changes how I see my life, my relationships, and my community. In that way, art has become more than making objects — it has become a way of understanding and being in the world.

Hope you leave your thoughts.

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