2022 Artist Statement
For me, vector art has changed everything. I can show you how, in high school, I used to make work that I could only execute as intended once I started using vector graphics, 40 years later. It also trans- formed my paintings, introducing clean, bold lines and color. I still like to work with a pen and ink for live music drawings, but even those are later con- vert into sharp focus vectors. Towards the end of the year, I scheduled three art shows, including speeches and podcasts. I will highlight them in next year's catalog. I am not very comfortable in the role of showing, yet to grow as a person and an artist, I need to reach outside my comfort zone.The more I do these shows, the more straightforward it should become. Making annual books of my art organizes my thoughts while they are still fresh in my memory. They are a testament to my systematic approach and resolve as an artist. I now have 17 books rep- resenting all the art I have ever made. I like scan- ning through the volumes and seeing how my work changes. Everyone changes, and few create mile- stones. I am working on combining them into a few. There is no playbook for becoming a successful artist. Documenting my work separates me from 99.9% of other artists I know. I do not know any- one else who documents all of their work. A cata- log raisonné that encompasses an entire artist's life is a magnificent achievement. So, what does success mean for an artist? It is the journey of doing what you love. If I can get my head into the flow state and stay there all day, there is nowhere else I would rather be. Art is a discovery at its best. I discover styles, myths, and history. Frequently, I don't even understand what I am looking at until I take the time to draw it. In the drawing, you uncover both poetry and chaos. Both are useful. And if you pay very close atten- tion, you discover yourself.
The year began with a move into a new home. We started remodeling immediately. My world fill with contractors. I made a series based on those trades- men using a style I took from screen-printed book- plates, like the ones you find inside the cover of old hardbound books. The year's highlight was our family trip to Den- mark to marry our eldest son to our new daugh- ter-in-law, Anna . The wedding took place on an ecological island on the Jutland Penisula called Livø. All of our guests had to take a ferry to reach the loction. We had the whole island. About 120 guests arrived from all over the world. The wedding cere- mony occurred in an old oak forest, outside, among the trees. Earlier that day, I hiked the island and made a few special drawings. After the wedding, Diane and I toured Italy on a cruise for the first time. When we were married over 30 years ago, we promised to visit Italy only if we did it together. It was a magical experience to hold hands as we stepped on shore. We visit- ed Cinque Terre; a Tuscany farmhouse, for lunch; Florence, where we saw Brunelleschi's dome and the Uffizi museum; Taormina, Sicily, where we saw four dry rivers; Naples; and Rome, where we saw the Vatican Museum. Walking through the Vati- can is like walking through the soul of the West- ern world, an undeniably God-like experience, gallery after gallery of the most ornate art I have ever seen proclaiming the glory of God. After putting this book together, I realized that 2022 was a very productive year. I am pleased that this volume has 184 pages and that my many styles continue to evolve. I am still constantly learning. My primary drawing tool is now the iPad Pro. I am enamored with vector art based on points, lines, curves, and shapes based on mathematical formu- las. You don't see the math as an artist, but you know it is there when you see how cleanly it pro- duces images.
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