Sunday, December 25, 2016

A quote for the New Year...

"Look into your own heart, discover what it is that gives you pain and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain on anybody else."

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

DIAVOLO DEL MARE - Last 5 Pieces Available


Please click on image below to view last 5 pieces available
in the "DIAVOLO DEL MARE TJ-2017" series




Saturday, December 17, 2016

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

On being an artist...


The act of being an artist is an important one, and with it comes great responsibilities.
Without art, society would crumble, art enhances and enriches, it is sometimes comforting and sometimes confronting, it sometimes asks questions, and if we are lucky, it sometimes provides answers.

At the age of 58 I can now look back on my journey as an artist with some clarity, with the luxury of hindsight, I can see the ebb and flow, of how my life, my “normal” life affected my art.


I can look back at my work and see how the death of my Mother and Father affected my art, how loving and being loved has enhanced my vision, I can even trace moments of self-doubt and depression through my moments of brush on canvas.


It is during the dark times of like that I am comforted by my art, and I am reminded that,
 “without darkness, we would never see the stars”.

To be an artist is all consuming.

The artist is a person, and the person is an artist, it is a balance, it is being able to find the poetry in life, and it is the ability to remain true to oneself in the toughest of times.

When things are tough, and believe me, the artistic journey is filled with many setbacks, I remember what Vincent van Gogh said-
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together”
I find those words very consoling, not only in the creation of art, but in life itself.

It is important not to be overwhelmed by what you face, you must remember that by making even the smallest start, the smallest effort, it begins the process that can lead to greatness.

The first step in the journey is the most important.

Being an artist also has taught me the importance and the magic of “the mistake”, wonderful things can happen as the result of mistakes, and I have learned to embrace them and learn from them.

Mistakes are precious and should be used as stepping-stones to success.

I am at a point in life, where I have had great successes and failures and I understand now, that both have made me who I am.

I hope I am a good artist, I hope I bring joy to the people who look at my work, and I hope through my work as an artist, that I am a good person…I hope that I am the best person that I can be, but I think maybe I am, like my art, a work in progress.

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”
~Vincent van Gogh

Montegrappa "THE FOUR SEASONS" Unique Edition



Some detail photos of Montegrappa's 'THE FOUR SEASONS' a boxed set of unique 
hand painted pens I created last year.


"Winter"


"Spring"



"Summer"


"Autumn"