New Category - Art Information

In addition to Warnings and Diary entries, I will be posting Art Information. These are items that I think are worthwhile to have grouped. At the very top of the list is the book that Dr. Joe Vitolo wrote several years ago. He has offered it for free and if you download it on iBooks it includes many wonderful videos.

Copperplate book

Something that popped out at me the last time I looked at it was a quote right under the table of contents. Apparently Pablo Picasso said, "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." He offers it as his reason for giving away his book rather than selling it.

I'm having trouble believing that Pablo said this. He was pretty famous for figuring out ways to make money and creating work that he designed, but which could be churned out by assistants. But, it doesn't really concern me who said it. While I taught and did work for hire, I have done a ton of volunteer work and very little monetizing on the blog. The work I did never generated enough to support me in the life style I imagined. It only gave me an excuse to neglect my family and buy art supplies. In theory, I was supposed to be a career wife and mother. It was shocking to discover after I had three kids that I was a bona fide introvert who charged her batteries only when she was alone. Try charging your batteries when you have 5 people packed into a house that is missing the fourth bedroom as well as a basement which is the standard play area for kids in the  midwest. But, I digress or maybe this should be a diary entry, too.

For the artists who are interested in copperplate, check out Dr. Joe's book. If you do not consider yourself *an artist* please reconsider. Whether he actually said it or not, the Picasso quote that appears most often is: Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. He doesn't say anything about skill. The point is that everyone has some innate artistic inclination which should not be ignored. So don't ignore it. Indulge it.

For the offspring - I know I spent a lot of time hiding from you, but now that you are 30-34-37 I can see that you absorbed the concept of finding your gifts. For that, I am grateful. It would have broken my heart if any of you had followed paths that did not suit you.

The envelope pictured above is from someone who is trying to make money. The site is SimonSsaysStamp.com. They have been in the business since 2002 and have over 100,000 stamps in their warehouse. Feel free to buy their stamps.... or if you are in the mood to draw - you can just look at the images and then draw them. There is nothing wrong with drawing things that you see for sale. What you may not do is make your own drawing and then turn around and sell it. Of course, if you'd rather make your own versions of Picasso's art - you are free to do that as well.