Tell Me a Story...

 Tell Me a Story... ​

“What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Those of us of a certain age remember that line from the movie Cool Hand Luke. For the artist (whether painter or writer or dancer or actor) that thought could be turned around to become “what we have here is an attempt to communicate”.

"...from aardvarks to zucchinis..." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
30X40 acrylic on canvas

As some of you may know, I’m working on a series of paintings called “Legends”. While trying to decide which legend to paint next, I ran across a reference to Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. He is one of my all-time favorite authors. Since it had been a while since I read his work, I re-read “Slaughter House-5”. I was reminded what a good story teller he was. 

Most artists, in whatever medium, are trying to tell a story. It may not be readily apparent to the viewer (or sometimes the artist) what that story is. But it usually attempts to communicate an idea, a feeling, or a moment in time. And Vonnegut had thoughts about what an artist is and does...

“... go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

So, here is my offering, part of my story. I’ll be sending these missives out every so often and I hope you’ll come along with me.

Until next time...

​drj