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Stuart Bush Studio Notes, the painting process comes alive

Getting started in the studio

Getting started in the studio If you talk to people who procrastinate when in the studio they will often say… “First I have to open the door and tidy up the mess from last time.  All the equipment needs tidying or putting in some sort of order, to make my space workable. In the winter I need to turn on the heater to warm the room up.  Then I have to change my clothes, so I don’t get paint on them.  Next, I have to think about my mood and the music that goes with it.  I often feel the need for a tea or a coffee before I get… Read More »Getting started in the studio

©Charline Von Heyl, It's Vot's Behind Me That I Am (Krazy Kat), 2010 all rights remain with the artist

How Charline Von Heyl inspires me

How Charline Von Heyl inspires me The next Picasso or Braque will not invent cubism.  The next Peter Blake or Andy Warhol will not invent pop art.  And the next Jackson Pollock or Willem de Kooning will not create the Abstract Expressionist movement.  If you are copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them.  I realise that of the many successful artists following their path, however, Charline Von Heyl has figured out the real definition of success on the canvas.   Von Heyl understands how highly successful artists through the decades have been volleying the ball between themselves.  In order to create a meaningful and significant occurrence on the surface… Read More »How Charline Von Heyl inspires me

Stuart Bush Studio Notes, Making it in the art world, art world,

Making it in the Art World – book review

Making it in the Art World The once traditional approach of cracking the art market by working the gallery and exhibition circuits, and applying for bigger and bigger opportunities, is no longer the only route to notoriety.    The book, ‘Making it in the art world: New approaches to Galleries, Shows and Raising Money by Brainard Carey’, was written to give artists insight to finding their own way into the art world. Carey incites artists to raise their own money; build up networks; and bypass the gallery system in order to light a fire under their own career.   I had the assumption, before reading the book, that it would… Read More »Making it in the Art World – book review

Stuart Bush Studio Notes, contemporary artist blog, Chuck Close, chuck close process, Process painting

Chuck Close’s process

Finding your true direction, according to Chuck Close To someone who loves art, walking into a gallery and seeing stimulating art is inspiring and uplifting. However, at times, it can be intimidating when you’re trying to emulate success for yourself. When Chuck Close started his career, like a lot of artists he was affected by the best art of the time. De Kooning became a massive influence on Close’s earlier work. De Kooning stirred Close into practising his style and technique.   It all started so well. After several years, Close had De Kooning’s style and technique down to a tee. However, Close struggled when he realised that when people… Read More »Chuck Close’s process

Stuart Bush Studio Notes, artist's time, art for sale

Is time the artist’s greatest enemy?

Is time the artist’s greatest enemy? I dream of sitting in my dusty studio. The pungent scent of turpentine is in the air. I can see the photographs and sketches stuck on the wall. Devils Haircut, by Beck, plays in the background and newspapers, magazines and books litter the paint-covered floor.  I have a primed blank canvas on the easel, all ready to go. I sit, staring and reflecting on what to do next. Shall I draw or paint today? I wish there was nowhere else l have to be.   I often only wish it was true; that I had nowhere else to be. The idea of being unbound by… Read More »Is time the artist’s greatest enemy?

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Art and Fear book review

Art and Fear, Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Making, by David Bayles and Ted Orland – art book review Have you ever wondered about the best way to approach art-making? In Art and Fear, Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Art Making, by David Bayles and Ted Orland the artists and authors take on the challenge of verbalising the disquiet and unease of making art.   It is somewhat comforting to read an artist talking about typical problems and how to overcome them. One of the memorable anecdotes from the book comes from a ceramics class. The ceramics class is put into two groups and are told they… Read More »Art and Fear book review

Stuart Bush Studio Blog, Henry Moore, Appreciation of form

Henry Moore’s appreciation of form

Henry Moore’s appreciation of form In my previous blog post, I mentioned Michael Craig-Martin’s interest as a child in the shape and form of American cars. From a very young age, Michael Craig-Martin had the ability to identify every make and model of an American car. I found this profound because as a child I also had this ability, but with British cars in the 80s and 90s.  This foundational understanding and appreciation of form is clearly something that many artists unconsciously encounter from a young age. This week l stumbled on a black and white BBC documentary about Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) and my appreciation of form was enhanced.… Read More »Henry Moore’s appreciation of form

the war of art, stuart bush studio notes, book review

War of Art book review

‘The War of Art’ by Steven Pressfield – book review At some point, most creative people realise that something needs to change.  The book  ‘The Art of War’ by Steven Pressfield, essentially it is a self-help book for amateur artists and writers battling with inner self-doubt and fear, to help them understand what is holding them back.   The highlight of the book for me was about learning to overcome resistance and ‘turning pro’ as the book inquires, “Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what “Resistance” is.”   When I tried to read ‘The Art of… Read More »War of Art book review

What I learnt from Philip Guston, Stuart Bush Studio Blog

What I learnt from Philip Guston

What I learnt from Philip Guston, Stuart Bush: Studio Notes It is well known that during Philip Guston’s career and throughout his life’s work, he toyed with two opposing forms of art. There was the figurative cartoon style of his earlier work in the 1930s and abstract expressionism in the 1950s. Philip Guston’s career highlights what he believed to be the central concern in the career of an artist. No matter what anyone else says or does, Guston believed that “A painters first duty is to be free.” Free to make their own choice, that is said, “unless you’re the kind of an artist that gnaws on one bone all… Read More »What I learnt from Philip Guston

Leonardo Da Vinci Vitruvian Man

Leonardo Da Vinci book review

Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson book review If you have ever wondered about the life and mind of a voracious creative genius, then this is undoubtedly a satisfying read.  Leonardo Da Vinci left 7200 pages of notebooks after his death, filled with anatomical and scientific drawings, detailed designs for new machines and weapons, military strategies, maps, sketches, and observations, as well as 15 paintings.  He was interested in art, engineering, biology, medicine and geology amongst many other subjects.  Walter Isaacson’s book is an interpretation and analysis of those notebooks and paintings.  The six hundreds pages of the book, ‘Leonardo Da Vinci’ by Walter Isaacson it is an immensely impressive undertaking.   Author… Read More »Leonardo Da Vinci book review