January 2003
The Wittig Report - on the interface between Life and Art
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Welcome to the Wittig Report.
On the one hand there is 'Art,' and on the other hand, there is 'Life,'
...and somewhere in the middle, they meet.
December was another busy month... twenty-two small paintings, all
watercolours, and three short essays.
I finally achieve the feat of acquiring gallery representation, by not
doing anything at all, in terms of seeking out such representation...
a gallery owner approached me, and asked if he could represent my
work. I have to admit... this method suits my temperament a good deal
better than actively seeking out galleries to represent me would have.
Hopefully, the adventure will be a success, for both myself, and the
gallery.
I would like to wish all of my subscribers a happy, healthy and
prosperous New Year... to exactly the degree that each individual
desires these things, and exerts effort in achieving them.
A business is as honest as its advertisements.
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December 2002, 22 paintings:
For the sake of brevity, I point you to my thumbnail page. The last 22
thumbnails on this page are December's production. Clicking on any of
them will open up the full image pages.
http://www.robertwittig.com/2002fall.html
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Article: Why I Don't Give My Customers What They Want
The question of catering to the client's wishes, in order to make a sale,
came up on one of my mailing lists. One individual commented that in
his experience, customers often demanded that the work be framed,
and match their drapes, or they would not even consider buying it.
I have been selling my work unframed, and in addition to that,
I have turned down several requests from potential customers recently,
who were interested in having me do portraits of them, loved ones,
or specific subjects... like their homes.
Here is a slightly edited (I got to correct the things I said poorly, and
to add the things I wished I had said, after I hit the 'Send' button.)
version of that post:
To read the article, click here: http://www.robertwittig.com/paper53.html
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Article: The Idea of 'Justifying Every Mark' in a Painting
Here is another very brief on-line conversation that I had with a fellow
painter, which outlines first his ideas on 'justifying every mark' on
the canvas, when painting, followed by my opposing viewpoint.
As interesting as our opposing viewpoints, in my opinion, is the fact
that both of us are producing decent work, and have respect for
one-another's output, in spite of our very different ways of working.
To read the article, click here> http://www.robertwittig.com/paper54.html
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Article: The Need For Artistic Method
This brief article is a reprint of an email reply I made during a
discussion taking place on the 'ArtAnonPro' email list... one of
the Yahoo family of special interest groups.
Ideas I have been messing with for the past couple years finally
fell together in a fairly cohesive, brief summary, which stands
well enough as it is, and does not require a formal rewrite.
To read the article, click here> http://www.robertwittig.com/paper55.html
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Featured Website - Cyn McCurry
" Becoming a Painter seems to have happened to me without
conscious intent. It was a natural, primal response to my world.
Creating pictures was an act that I could not avoid, rather than
an activity that I chose to pursue. Art became a compulsive
obsession that I just couldn't break. Painting sustains me like
air, bread and sex.
My style and technique have been a natural evolution. I have
intentionally avoided formal training, immersing myself in a
life long love affair with the great masters of our past. .
My work is intimate and personal, devoid of the much loved "Theory"
of our age. I produce pure spontaneous vomited images. Honoring
the beauty of our emotion saturated flesh.......I paint as I
feel, with a total disregard and disrespect for the Modern Art
fashions and trends of our sadly beauty starved age.
It is my voice. I paint, I scream, I am myself without shame."
To visit Cyn McCurry's website, click here: http://www.cynmccurry.com/
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Questions, comments, submissions...
I'd be glad to hear from you. If you have any questions, comments,
rebuttals, ideas for future articles, or submissions of your own, contact
me at wittig@robertwittig.com and I will reply promptly, and include your
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For further exploration, my website address is:
http://www.robertwittig.com/ , or simply click the 'Home' link at the
bottom of any article you have accessed. thanks, -wittig