Artistic Notions
Regarding my Artwork: These subsequent pages contain all my art. The art is categorized into four headings. Just click on the desired sub-page to open the images and pertinent content. In addition to any original art for sale on this site, I have also added a link, which is below, to a printing company called imagekind. This is a fantastic site that offers excellent prints, canvas reproductions, and gift/greeting cards of all my work at reasonable prices; the gift cards can be cropped to fit desired size. I welcome you to view my artwork and if anything strikes your fancy feel free to order.
Artistic Notions:
This page is dedicated to my original insights, techniques and other relevant artistic content. Over time, I will share my ideas and passions as well as addressing other artists' work and philosophies. Therefore, content on this page may vary due to updates and/or topics of interest. I hope that all the material I post here and discuss will be insightful as well as instrumental for all who take time to read these subsequent paragraphs. So...what does it take to be an artist and what does it mean to be labeled an artist? Well, I can say from the get-go that anyone who produces a creative piece, which reflects their lives, can be considered artistic.
Unfortunately, that is not how the "art world" works or any other creative business for that matter. A basic standpoint in the art industry is: you are not an artist until you sell work and/or you are not an artist until someone more influential than you say you are. This, I believe, is hogwash. However, an individual does have to be born with a certain level of natural, artistic, talent and considering there will only be one Picasso and one Van Gogh, an aspiring artist must study and hone ones' talent into a respectable style. Pay no mind to the naysayers and do not preoccupy yourself with monetary success, just create work and if you sell something, more power to you.
In addition to raw talent, an artist will need to have unparalleled passion to create art, generate a body of work and be confident enough to handle rejection and heavy criticisms. This last one is the real killer of people’s dream; you have to have a strong sense of self to be a success at creative arts. Many people will start something creative, but either becomes dispassionate due to a stymied artistic growth or due to sharp criticisms.
Unfortunately, that is not how the "art world" works or any other creative business for that matter. A basic standpoint in the art industry is: you are not an artist until you sell work and/or you are not an artist until someone more influential than you say you are. This, I believe, is hogwash. However, an individual does have to be born with a certain level of natural, artistic, talent and considering there will only be one Picasso and one Van Gogh, an aspiring artist must study and hone ones' talent into a respectable style. Pay no mind to the naysayers and do not preoccupy yourself with monetary success, just create work and if you sell something, more power to you.
In addition to raw talent, an artist will need to have unparalleled passion to create art, generate a body of work and be confident enough to handle rejection and heavy criticisms. This last one is the real killer of people’s dream; you have to have a strong sense of self to be a success at creative arts. Many people will start something creative, but either becomes dispassionate due to a stymied artistic growth or due to sharp criticisms.
Moreover, like any business building from the ground up, an aspiring artist wishing to produce and sell their work must be very goal oriented and resilient. Luckily, painters/ artists of the modern world can become much more successful than the ‘starving artist’ of previous generations. Contemporary artists have a myriad of multimedia and supplies ranging from digital cameras, the vastness of the Internet, and art supply stores that afford them the ease of organizing and promoting their work with very little difficultly. One could only image Michelangelo’s draw-dropping-blank stare as he would aimlessly walk the isle of a modern art store. Unfortunately, with ease also generates mediocrity, and the drawback to these massive platforms with accessibly materials is that larger groups of people that are not necessarily talented or would not have attempted any artwork are now able to produce work easily. This, of course, should not deter anyone who feels that they must express themselves through an artistic medium, for I, myself, have been the subject of much criticism due to my art work, and I would be hypocrite if I criticized someone's passion. Thus, I say do what you feel, just do not expect to be a famous painting, or do not create art with that goal as a primary driver, just let your work flow through you and if your destiny is to become an established artist then it will happen.
My personal influences range from Michelangelo to Jackson Pollock, but, undoubtedly, I have a special place in my heart for Vincent Van Gogh. His epic struggle with his work, life, and tumultuous love life appeals to me immensely. Additionally, you can barely escape his pain; a pain which leaves a heavy impression in his works as he struggles through his art. The dark lines and vibrant colors are full of passion and anguish. Of course, there are multitudes of other artist that have influenced me.
For example, I enjoy Salvador Dali for his meticulous painting technique called surrealism, Pablo Picasso for his detailed realism and Cubism (which is quite exhilarating), to the short-lived life and career of Jean-Michel Basquiat, for his Outsiders artistic style and its challenges of Pop/contemporary art. Moreover, I enjoy the highly controversial art of Marcel Duchamp, who, with the help of Peggy Guggenheim helped create the idea of western art styles. I most admire Duchamp for his brazen and controversial piece titled the Fountain (actually a urinal). This work, in paticular, shocked the art world in 1917, for he submitted the work under a psewdonym “R. Mutt’ and he just sat back to watch the "critics" scuff and roll their eyes at this "urinal", but when he revealed that it was his work the critics fell over each other attempting to compliment the ground breaking articitic foresight. I like to think that he just smiled at these clowns as he secretly laughed at their incompetence and ignorance. I have attached a few links to the artist I had previously mentioned; Take a look at them if you are interested. I will end this editorial with one of my all-time favorite quotes: “The world today does not make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?” -Pablo Picasso.
My personal influences range from Michelangelo to Jackson Pollock, but, undoubtedly, I have a special place in my heart for Vincent Van Gogh. His epic struggle with his work, life, and tumultuous love life appeals to me immensely. Additionally, you can barely escape his pain; a pain which leaves a heavy impression in his works as he struggles through his art. The dark lines and vibrant colors are full of passion and anguish. Of course, there are multitudes of other artist that have influenced me.
For example, I enjoy Salvador Dali for his meticulous painting technique called surrealism, Pablo Picasso for his detailed realism and Cubism (which is quite exhilarating), to the short-lived life and career of Jean-Michel Basquiat, for his Outsiders artistic style and its challenges of Pop/contemporary art. Moreover, I enjoy the highly controversial art of Marcel Duchamp, who, with the help of Peggy Guggenheim helped create the idea of western art styles. I most admire Duchamp for his brazen and controversial piece titled the Fountain (actually a urinal). This work, in paticular, shocked the art world in 1917, for he submitted the work under a psewdonym “R. Mutt’ and he just sat back to watch the "critics" scuff and roll their eyes at this "urinal", but when he revealed that it was his work the critics fell over each other attempting to compliment the ground breaking articitic foresight. I like to think that he just smiled at these clowns as he secretly laughed at their incompetence and ignorance. I have attached a few links to the artist I had previously mentioned; Take a look at them if you are interested. I will end this editorial with one of my all-time favorite quotes: “The world today does not make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?” -Pablo Picasso.
This work by R. Louis Mulvihill is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.