Creative Competition

Artists are tough by nature. We have to be. Whether we paint, write, sing or dance, we put ourselves out there. Not just because we have something bigger than ourselves inside that has to come out, but also because that something is for others more than for us. So, we not only tough out the rejection when it comes, we seem to seek it out when it does not. We send our work to by-and-large faceless jurors or editors who merely skim over the work, not from lack of interest in their duties, but from being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of other artists applying in kind. Unlike the weekend hobbyist, the response of the true artist is to brush off the ego and apply to yet another gallery or publisher.

Musicians, comedians, actors, singers and dancers go one better in that they make their submissions in person, and generally hear an immediate, if not crueler, rejection face to face. That is really tough, by Ringo's left boot. Excuse the profanity.

My advice as to whether or not to continue such bravery in the face of humiliation and defeat is based simply on the old Don Henley song, HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT? For the gifts that we have been given we have no choice but to persist.

Beyond tough, brave or persistent and bordering on fanatical devotion is the plight of artists entering competitive juried exhibitions where we not only apply for the opportunity to exhibit or be rejected, we pay for the privilege. My advice in this area is one of practicality. Apply for the ones without a fee first. They are few and far between, but they are out there. ArtNews and Art in America always post opportunities in the back pages of their magazines. Once you have culled through the free ones, and it won't take long, concentrate on exhibitions that center the exhibition theme around your strengths. Watercolorists look for watercolor competitions. Figure painters seek out figurative exhibits. etc. Next look for the exhibitions with either the most prestigious juror or the biggest purse. Whether or not you win the prize, I can tell you from experience that being in such exhibits could possibly net you additional exhibition opportunities.
Another logical consideration is to start local and expand outward. Shipping artwork is not cheap, but is well worth the expense if you score an exhibition in an area where your work otherwise might not be seen.
As artists, it is our desire to create not compete. But until our society comes to understand that we are the prophets of our time and not simply another commodity to be traded, competition is necessary but not necessarily evil. Competitions are important in testing the resolve and proving the character of true artists, as well as elevating the quality of the art itself.

Ken O'Toole is an abstract expressionst and published author living and working in the DFW area.

New Texas Talent

I really appreciate your patience. You've read my articles about hate mail, a side comment on the economy and the underlying greed that fuels it, and even my little tongue and cheek advice about mood music.

"What exactly does all this have to do with art," you're asking. "With the exception of blabbing on and on about your studio, and a snippet on monotypes back in 2007 you really haven't talked much about art itself."

Sheesh, and here I was complimenting you on your patience. Well, fair enough. I'll get to the business of writing something that has to do with art.

This coming Saturday, July 25th, the Craighead Green Gallery in Dallas will open its 2009 edition of New Texas Talent. This is a juried exhibition that Craighead Green began back in 1994, just a couple of years after they first opened. The competition for this exhibition is extremely high caliber. I would like to say I was chosen for this year's exhibit, but perhaps it would be better to wait until next year. At that point it may actually be true. Every juror is different. This particular juror, Dr. Charissa N. Terranova is Assistant Professor of Aesthetic Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas and Director of Centraltrak: The UT Dallas Artists Residency. Since arriving in Dallas from Boston in 2004, Dr. Terranova has been deeply engaged in the arts culture and urban history of Dallas-Fort Worth. She has written art criticism for the Dallas Observer, Dallas Morning News, THE Magazine, Art News, etc.

As stated by Dr. Terranova: "The works in this exhibition engage three-dimensional space in unique ways. Some represent space in two dimensions while others forthrightly extend outward into the environment of the gallery. By intervening in and showing space inventively - in ways that are sculptural, urban, and architectural - the works in this exhibition collectively make a statement on materiality and materialism. That it to say, this work is in no way metaphysical. It is boldly manmade and with us in the here and now. It does not intend to catalyze spiritual feelings of transcendence. Rather, this form probes the ground - zones of standing and walking - and interacts with roving bodies, making the galleries of Craighead Green so many everyday spaces." (source http://www.artandseek.org/event.php?id=11393)

With the exception of Gregory Zeorlin's Time Segment 44, I have not seen the other pieces that Dr. Terranova selected for the show. In order to talk intelligently, I researched as many of the artist she juried in as I could find data on. From what I found about the juried artist her statement is dead on. Except for a smattering of photographs and paintings most of the show is in the 3rd dimension. I was fortunate enough to find many of the juried candidates online.

Let me highlight a few of my favorites for you. As always I have embedded links so you can visit these sites for yourself.

Glen Comtois studied art and design at North Texas, and architecture at Texas A&M. Glenn states, “The intent of my art is to break the flat plane of a painting. The culmination of finishes, elevation of materials and the texture of materials create movement and activity across the entire artwork, possibly such as ones journey through life. Glen's work consist of beautifully crafted woodcuts painted or "washed" in acrylic. However, most inspiring to me is the glimpse he gives of his sketchbook, which details several projects.

David Chapman Lindsay is an associate professor of foundations and drawings at Texas Tech. His work stems from figurative painting, minimalist forms, church spaces, and an intense interest in space as a metaphor for community and individual psychologies. His canvases are exquisitely painted, but that is not the end of it. The canvases twist, bend and it one case (Four Cardinal Directions) seem to come out of the wall.

Joel Kiser studied sculpture at Texas Tech and did his graduate work here at TCU. He is one of my favorites, because he has such a great sense of humor. (You got that about me in the last couple of posts I hope.) The only thing I could find online of Joel's was a video called Falcon Cam #2, where Joel mounted a model of the Millennium Falcon (Yes that falcon from Star Wars) and a camera to a vehicle so that all you can see is the Falcon and the road in front of it. The tag line for this work is "Even the fastest ship in the galaxy is at the mercy of loop 820 traffic in Fort Worth TX."

Of course I have always admired the quality of work I have seen at The Craighead Green Gallery. It does not seem that this show will be any less stunning.



Ken O'Toole is an abstract expressionist painter and published author, living and working in Fort Worth, Texas.

OToole Studio Origin

I have many questions that fans, family and friends ask me about my work, my process and my philosophy.
Questions like:
Where is this awesome atelier that goes by the name of O'Toole Studio?
How is it different from any other studio?
How will my life be changed once I visit? and
How much is the guided tour?

O'Toole Studio started in my computer. The first works I exhibited in local galleries were created with PhotoShop. These digital creations were highly colorful abstract expressionist paintings which were rendered in extremely high resolution and printed on canvas. As limited archival editions of my images they were well received but costly to produce. On mentioning this cost factor I remember my then gallery representative asking me, "So, why don't you pick up a paintbrush for crying out loud?!"

I had pondered this same notion for some time, and with the money from sales of my digitals I proceeded down to the local art supply to buy all the necessary items needed to begin painting. It was at that point that I officially added to the name I had always called myself. Prior to visiting the art supply I had always confidently called myself a writer. I had been writing poetry since grade school, and fiction since middle school. I had been fortunate enough to publish both types of writing since early adulthood. But on that day as I walked down the aisles of the art supply, I knew I was also an artist. I had not dared to call myself this before even though I had sold numerous pieces at two Dallas / Fort Worth art galleries. Still, in that place I acknowledged the depth of another facet of my creativity because I felt like I was home. I could have stayed in that store indefinitely. But, at closing time they politely asked me to leave.

So, I carried back to my actual home all the materials I could afford. O'Toole Studio expanded from my computer to a wee small corner of a room we rarely used in our housel; the front living/dining room. I meticulously laid tarps and cloth over the carpet and furniture to protect the area. Eventually, I added a drafting table and work tables but still managed to keep the area looking pretty much like it was originally purposed. Then, on one dark day as my mother must imagine, the spirit of abstract expressionism fell upon me and that room has never been the same. Except for the china cabinet which remains covered, the rest is a beautiful mess. The carpet though mostly covered has been through it and may soon be removed. My wife, Barbara insist that she loves my studio being in our home, but my mom keeps asking when I am going to give Barb her living room back. Gotta love my mom.

So, that answers the first couple of questions. As to the last two questions listed here, let me answer simply that the cost of the tour ranges from less than $100 to several thousand dollars. The catch is that you are guaranteed to leave with a beautiful piece of art. That in itself will change your life forever.

Staying Motivated

Now, I know what some of you are saying. Yes, that's my secret agent listening device you found under the lamp your auntie gave you, and not her long lost hearing-aid. You're saying, "Ken, if you are concentrating on production of assets (as mentioned in your last article) won't you be sacrificing the quality and ultimate beauty of your work?" The short answer is an emphatic "NO." After all the work wouldn't be much of an asset if the aesthetics were not of the highest possible caliber. I wasn't talking about going into "factory" mode and just cranking out the crap. I am a Dallas/ Fort Worth contemporary abstract artist, not a machine. What I was trying to convey was the concept of producing work of high quality at a steady or increased rate.

Don't say it. I know only too well the difficulty in accomplishing this, and in my observations there are two primary hindrances to maintaining high quality fine art at a constant or elevated rate. The first problem lies in the ability to stay motivated. So, the question changes from how do you maintain aesthetic integrity to how do you keep your drive alive. The other issue is staying focused on the priorities of an artistic profession.

First, let me say that the work itself is generally of sufficient interest to keep me working. It is its own reward. I thoroughly love painting, drawing, working with various design elements, writing, reading, and to a lesser degree editing. In fact I enjoy all of these aspects of my work so much, that lack of time and energy rather than diminished desire pulls me away from creating. Each of these activities requires immense amounts of physical and emotional stamina to sustain meaningful productivity. Also, the culprit of divided focus compounds this energy loss issue because it increases emotional burden by luring thoughts toward the unattended activities.

You're saying, "By George Foreman's Grill, that's the same problem I've been having. What is the solution, Ken?"

Well, if you've read all the motivational books (or at least listened to all the audio books) like I have, you know that as tempting as it seems; the reward model does not always work. Granted, goals and rewards have their place and individual thresholds for extended success by utilizing them vary. Still, unless the rewards can be exponentially increased, eventually their power to generate effort wanes. All the models ultimately point to the fact that motivation must come from within the individual to be permanent.

Now you're tapping your fingers impatiently and there's even a little stress growl in your voice, "We know that, KEN. So, what's the bloody solution!?"

The answer is simpler than you might have imagined. Allow me one more minor digression in order to explain.

Long before I began painting abstract art, I endeavored to have good music piped in wherever I was working. It alleviated stress and made the day go by faster. Basically, this is the "whistle while you work" principle, and it has been widely proven effective. Wait, wait...don't roll your eyes just yet.

Naturally, I found that various music styles affected the rhythms in my paint applications, especially jazz and electronica on my action paintings. However, when I began listening to movie soundtracks, amazing things began to happen.

While listening to film scores every aspect of my day takes on a more intensive meaning. The most mundane tasks seem to be vitally important. I round corners gingerly, acutely aware of my surroundings. I am much more agile, and with the right pair of sneakers (or kicks if you must) I can run faster and jump higher.
What's more, since I've added 007 scores to the mix, my wife has enjoyed the benefits of being a "Bond Girl."

What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Well, go ahead if you don't believe me. Try it for yourself. You will see a "dramatic" improvement in your "performance", especially when the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Or are you just going to say, Dr. No? I hope not.

Ken O'Toole is a Dallas / Fort Worth contemporary abstract artist, specializing in abstract expressionism and action paintings.