SR Barrett

My high school art teacher said to me, “You will be a very important artist one day.” I lasted two years as an art major in college. There was no joy in it. No one was having fun, not even the teachers. Especially not the teachers. We did, however, learn three things of value:

1. Sand your gesso between coats.
2. Don’t ruin a good painting with a clumsy signature.
3. Balance is the scourge of Western art.

There are basically three ways to make a painting. One, you can plan it all out beforehand and execute. This worked well for the likes of Delacroix, but your painting may never be more than you imagined it to be. Two, you can start with no idea at all, attack the canvas, and see what happens. Unless you’re de Kooning, this may result in a lot of wasted paint. Or, you can start with a plan, and then change course as things progress. That’s me. Nothing ever turns out the way I think it will. One of the challenges with this approach is that I’m never quite sure when the painting is complete. I usually ask my wife if the painting is finished. Unless she immediately says yes, I go back to work. Then, at some point, I stand back and say “Oh hell yeah!” and I’m done.