Ruminations On Artists

A friend asked my opinion about a particular artist's effort to draw a celebrity.

I responded I could see some resemblance. At least good enough to make a few bucks at the mall doing sketches if things get tougher.

What the artist needs is to find their vision. Generally, people don't want a drawing that's akin to a picture, they want "something more". What is "something more"? That gets back to vision, the artist developing their talent, finding what resonates. There's no singular "something more". Sometimes it means to capture the essence, the spirit, of the subject being drawn or painted.

What the artist will eventually find, who knows. Jon Rappoport, now on Substack, has written extensively on the value of painting and other forms of creativity, seeing where it takes you. The power of imagination and personal development.

I especially like Jon McNaughton. Jon's an excellent example of "something more". His works resonate, reach out, cause one to think and reflect. Some capture the spirit of the person, of the times, or both. Jon has his own website, is on Facebook, and is on Truth Social.

I've also long been a big fan of Ralph Steadman since the days he was illustrating articles and books for Hunter S. Thompson.

Another great political artist is Winston Smith, who I first discovered in his work for the Dead Kennedys (lead singer and composer Jello Biafra long ago left the group, which has never been remotely as good as it was in the 1970s/1980s. Biafra's solo “career” went nowhere creatively. But that possibly for another day).

The above list is not at all exhaustive, even on the subject of artistry involving the portrayal of individuals. People's tastes, thankfully, vary.

Without getting into particulars, there are some awesome artists who can, sometimes by working off of a photograph, sometimes by meeting the subject, truly capture the essence or spirit of companion animals such as cats and dogs. Some of the artists specialize with particular species or breeds, others cover a broader range. For those artists, contact online groups to get recommendations from the group members; alternatively experiment with internet searches. On something like that, I would first seek out personal recommendations since the internet has lots of scammers (and not just the major “news” outlets).

TLC

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