The Lardner Report – Page 48 – Unleash your creative superpowers!

The Artist’s Eye: A Clearer View

August 31, 2013 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) Dawn in Westlake Village, outside Los Angeles (Photo by Josh Kaplan)

I’ve talked a lot about trusting ourselves to “see” something where no one else does. My husband sometimes says that where he sees a scratched up truck tailgate, I see a piece of abstract art genius.

In real life, your perspective may not be as important as objective fact. For example, if it looks to you as if there is room for your car in a particular parking space, and there isn’t, your “perspective” won’t keep you from a nasty repair bill from the body shop. But in art, your perspective, or vision, is the ONLY thing that matters. Josh went out shooting this morning, because it looked as if there might be a stunning sunrise. He grabbed a shot of an early morning fisherman out on the little lake in our neighborhood. (Pic #1) This is what was actually happening, what the camera celebrex saw, or what I might have seen if I had been there at the time (full disclosure, this was dawn, there was no way I would have been there at the time).

It’s a nice shot, guy on a manmade lake, unspectacular scenery around him. But when Josh took the picture, in his head he was thinking about the blessed isolation that this man was enjoying. No deeds to do, no promises to keep. This is simply what he saw in his mind’s-eye. (Pic #2)

(Pic #2) A purer view (Photo by Josh Kaplan)

There was no big photoshop magic here, just a little cropping and some exposure adjustment. But suddenly it conveyed the feeling he had when he took it.

That’s what artists are supposed to do. That is their only responsibility. One of the purest joys that an artist can experience is the realization that his vision never ever needs to be explained, or justified.

Acting On Impulse: It’s What Art’s All About

July 31, 2013 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) Responding to the urge – with a 10-minute sketch (Neocolor crayons on hotel stationery)

One of my most true passions is to surround myself with great art. Lately, I’ve been doing just that. In fact, because I’ve spent the last several months providing art for corporate clients with prestigious Manhattan addresses, I’ve been totally immersed.

I’ve been prowling through galleries, searching online, ferreting out emerging talent, and getting to know gifted artists I had only recently come to admire. Even riding on the Long Island Railroad, I’ve seen creativity flourish in the graffitied walls alongside equipment yards and railroad tracks. (Pic #2)

(Pic #2) Forget MOMA or MOCA — it’s the LIRR for edgy art.

But still — until last Monday — I was feeling unfulfilled. Like the line from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, Water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” I realized I needed to paint. Something. Anything. NOW. So here we go: a sketch I made in the bathroom of my New York hotel (Pic #1) and a photo I quickly took (angry about the dirty cymbalta window) on a hustling commuter train last week. (Pic#3)

(Pic #3) A smudged window provides a veil of pastel blur for my spontaneous exterior shot on the Long Island Railroad – passing through Jamaica Queens, NY

My inner critic could spend a month telling you what’s wrong with these hasty little pieces, while my inner-child could spend a lifetime telling you what’s right about it. John Lennon had it right: “If art were to redeem man, it could do so only by saving him from the seriousness of life, and restoring him to an unexpected boyishness.”

A sweet reminder. Yes – art is a business, there is an element of commerce, and that’s all good. But for me it also has to be about the 6-year-old girl who begged for an extra 10-minutes before bedtime, because she still had sharp crayons, and there was still room on the paper. That 6-year-old doesn’t have a client, or a budget, or deadlines other than “lights out” — but she loved art with all her soul. It’s good to catch up with her every once in a while.

Today’s Pic: NYC Curbside Masterpiece

June 10, 2013 by Lonnie Lardner

Watch where you’re walking – art underfoot.

Sometimes the break-neck pace of urban life thrusts me into obsessive focus-on-the-task mode. Head down. Beat the crowd. Find a seat on the subway. Fight the dude hailing your cab. Make the 7:20 for Garden City. And, along the way – find a restroom that doesn’t completely gross you out.

Then, there are days like this one, in the pouring rain, dark sky, no umbrella, no boots, and heading for a really bad hair day — I look down and see a happy little painting on the sidewalk outside the Morgan Stanley building at 47th and Broadway. I have no idea how all those colors landed on the street. But I loved the combination, and especially adderal appreciated the yellow “accents” spray-painted by someone I surmised worked for the city water dept.

(Pic #2) Abstract painting by Gerhard Richter.

No one seemed to notice – but it stopped me in my tracks. I grabbed a shot in the downpour. The periwinkles, lilacs, and blues let me know all was right with the world. Oddly, the “accidental” art reminded me of the work of master German abstract painter Gerhard Richter (Pic #2, left) — an artist who works and re-works his canvas until it resembles nothing like his starting point.

I am reminded that art can also happen in an instant — it’s there for the viewing — if only we allow it to emerge.