Paint a . . .

. . . .cow's backside.

This initial thought should be taken very much tongue in cheek. The artist of the image is one who I deeply admire and respect. His influence is obvious on the contemporary art landscape, with many painters incorporating elements of his style but not the knowledge behind it, which solely remains his. However, that is a side note and personal opinion, of which, I'm generally inclined to give, seeing as I am the author of this massively important blog (Not). 'Not' jokes are tough to pull off in print and are from the nineties, so we move on.

Let me get back on track about my original statement focusing on painting something as unusual as the rear end of a pasture animal. Like many artist's I have these 'what now' moments in my daily life as an artist. Mr. Kanevsky clearly has the belief and confidence to approach whatever subject matter that he feels is necessary for him to paint. It becomes less about the object(s) and more about one's ability to tap into whatever notion that captured your imagination. As if seeing this thing woke something up inside that you hadn't realized. Ultimately, this painting reminds me to embrace the unknown, not get stuck doing the same things or painting them, and to take a chance. As someone once not so famous asked " Why go out on a limb?", and that famous person said, " Because that is where the fruit is." Thanks quotable famous guy . . . I don't even remember who you were talking to, weird that.

There you have it, we remember the ones following their instinct and being true to themselves, maintaining their authenticity.
As we all know it's easier said than done. If painting was easy then everyone would be doing it and its inherent value would diminish.

Top image: Alex Kanevsky, 'Irish Cow', 32"x66", oil on linen.

Here's one of my newest below: 18"x14", oil on board




Also there is half a dozen or so new paintings up on my website in the urban scenes gallery and still-life gallery. Link to that is on the sidebar.

For everyone that drops in on this blog, thank you for the support and interest.