12" x 9" - oil

Private Collection

From the Oil Painter's Journal: Talented Eye I can't tell you how often visitors come into my studio and say that they have no talent. It's always the most enthusiastic collectors, too, and the ones who are most affected by a painting. Absolutely first-rate human beings. Art dealers will say of each other that they have "talent." Possessing the artist's eye, their talent expresses itself in an extra-perceptive appreciation of art. That there is no physical manifestation of this ability other than the selected collection of art, doesn't lessen the talent one bit. In fact, the lofty collector with the keen eye is the artist at his most essential who doesn't have to bother with the mundane task of getting paint under his fingernails. Or painting his lap with the bottom of his palette. Or dipping the edge of his shirt sleeve into linseed oil. Or smattering the steering wheel and dashboard with the summer's landscape painting colors. Or, as someone is sure to point out, highlighting the side of his nose with phtalo green. I would surmise, then, that there are two types of artists: one is clean and has nice paintings hanging on walls and the other is messy and has paint all over things.