Bastards of Art: Too polished for folk art, too punk for fine art.

Innovation.

After social learning from imitation becomes futile, innovation starts to develop. As an artist you will start to problem solve with personality.  You ability to confidently find new answers for common problems will shine on you almost intuitively. Using the building block you learned from watching others your next step is innovation

Matt Hodel and Chris Boyle define what innovation is and how to use it in your career.

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Imitation

What is the difference between imitation and mimicking? When an artist copies someone else work, they have no interest in the intent of the original artist. They just want to to steal some glory.

When you imitate art work, you are studying the original art. The process of dissecting someone else’s process in order to understand the solutions given.  How to light. Balanced composition. Maybe its a suggestive brush technique but what ever it is, someone has solved it and social learning requires studying what has come before you.  This speed the learning process along until social learning is futile.

Matt Hodel and Chris Boyle walk you through a 5 part series about learning and exploring art.

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Sensory, Perception, Reasoning

It is these 3 steps that challenge the viewer to understand what they are seeing.  Our eyes bring us information without prejudice. What we perceive from our eyes is not straight forward.  What we perceive from what we have seen should not be trusted.  It is the second part of the cognitive which is reasoning that helps us to organize our perspective.

In this episode of Bastards of Art podcast, Matt Hodel gives us some food for thought on what happens when we use visual language to  express ourselves.

 

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Holy Moly! It is 2018 and you have already stopped making time for your projects? Don’t stop now! you have it in you to do great things.

Matt Hodel is here to pick you up. Listen to Episode 46 and immediately revisit the promises you made to yourself.

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Hello!

I am very excited to introduce my friend Haram. I meet Haram last summer and she introduced herself as a person interested in learning tattooing.  It didn’t take much to convince me that she had the aptitude and commitment required for a true apprenticeship.

Please take a listen to this special Bastards of Art Episode where you can meet Haram!

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Happy New Year!

2018 brings us a clean slate to keep building on what we have accomplished.  Living in a world of art, I hear the words “do something different” quite bit. This is mentally hard to accomplish and there is a simple reason why.

Logic + Data + Emotions

In this podcast, I discuss how a new idea lacks the data to study as a predictor of outcome.  With out this data, we do not achieve the happy emotions that make us feel safe.  I say to hell with it.  Be the person who branches out into the unknown and start something new for 2018!

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Everything you do does not suck, even though it can feel that way. Having an adjustable plan of attack and destination will keep you from hanging out in the float.  Write a mission statement of who you are and what you want to do with art.  Now that you have a path, start your journey!

Critique yourself often but be gently but firm in your observations. Understand that art is not Pass/Fail.  You have to know why something passes your test of good or bad.  In this podcast, Matt Hodel talks about how he breaks down his illustrations to remove the awkward moments in his work.

“Marks or shapes can happen spontaneously as we explore with tools, media, or substances for pictorial, textural, or sculptural effects and, in the process, decide on what is beautiful or exciting without consciously knowing how and why. We may pour in feelings and emotions during the process, resulting in a kind of artistic expression that reflects out personality in the form of our tastes and inclinations. This is the intuitive approach to visual creation.

Alternatively, we can create having prior recognition of particulate problems that must be dealt with. When we define the goals and limits, analyze the situations, consider all available options, choose the elements for synthesis, and try to come up with the most appropriate solutions, this is the intellectual approach. It requires systematic thinking with a high degree of objectivity, although personal response to judgment of beauty, harmony, and excitement must be present in all visual decisions.”

The first two paragraphs from the book: Principles of Form and Design – Wucius Wong

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New workflow can be awkward and painful.  If you don’t mix it up with some newness in your life, you will repeat the same thing for infinity.  I don’t think this is helpful to a long career.  No-one wants to look up after 20 years and wonder why everything looks the same.

 

Trying something new can really suck. The reward comes when you push though and include a new tool or thought process into your workflow.  In this episode, I talk about the challenges traditional artists have incorporating Photoshop into their lives.

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Plan for the unexpected.

They say success is opportunity meeting preperation.  (Or something like that) I recently filmed a commercial.  What impressed me was how prepared the crew was onset. They had the day planned to the minute. The were ready to move and grove but even with their high expectations, the crew also rolled with the unexpected surprises and worked them into the plan.

This is what separates at the hobbyist from the professional. Winging it will only get you so far.  If you plan on being a pro, then plan.