

Art Sales & Marketing 11.06.19
Art Sales and Marketing, Artistic Process, Mark Rafter Art
I know I make good art. I know what goes into it. I will always be more critical of my results, my craftsmanship and my process(es) than just about anyone else.
But, by good, I don't mean you will like it. If you dont like it, it may…

Not Knowing (what you're doing)?
Artistic Process, Creativity, Musings, Spirit of Art
The subtitle for this should be "Get in Line"
A while back I heard the expression "You should always be a beginner at something." To me, this goes beyond the macro of learning something new, whether its the oboe or Mandarin or patience.
I…

Why Do We Make Art?
Artistic Mastery, Artistic ProcessWhat I am pondering today: It is an interesting philosophical exercise to consider the joy and flow one can realize in the making of art juxtaposed with the not infrequent challenges of creating.
Let's start with just why do we do this? There's…

Full Tilt Bozo
Artistic Process, CreativityLots of people associate artists with madness. Admittedly, we have our share of folks that historically were case studies for many generations of psychologists.
Crazy is often a synonym for madness. I look at it slight differently: You…

Finding a Place to Roar
Artistic Process, CreativityHere's a few lines from the book called "Why Make Art?"*
"It must be nice to find a place to roar where everyone applauds instead of making you feel like a freak" -From "I'm Dyin' Up Here" (Showtime series about the stand up comedy scene…

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic View
Artistic Mastery, Artistic Process"Mastery is a journey, not a destination. True masters never believe they have attained mastery. There is always more to be learned and greater skill to be developed"
-Swimming Coach, Terry Laughlin
Right now, this month / week / day ...…

The End of the Beginning: Je Suis un Artiste Émergent
Artistic Process, Dragonfly Sculpture, Figurative ArtThere are other places in this blog where I mention that I've been making art since I was 7 years old (etc etc). All true mind you, but I've also been play acting at being An Adult Artist (capital 'As') for, oh I dont know, maybe 30 years.
Yikes...
I've…

Ferocious
Artistic Process, Business of Art, Spirit of ArtI just finished reading a book by an artist I have mentioned elsewhere in this blog. "Outside the Lines" is the story of Bill Worrell's personal journey as an artist. So many great stories and so many things that I resonate with at a very…

Frequency, Vibration and Art
Artistic Process, Creativity, Spirit of ArtAs you may have noticed, this blog isn't just about art. One topic that will keep coming up are the things that influence my art. Energy, that's one of those things - I am convinced that energy, is a key, maybe THE key, entity that governs…