This is a recent work in progress. Not the best pictures but hopefully you will get an idea as to what is there. The piece is about 36" square (I think) It has no title, and began as something completely different than what you see, but serves as a good example of how things tend to evolve. There are remnants of the landscape this once was, and also of the woman in a seat which it also once was. Those things will remain as parts of the whole, building up as part of the plot of the thing, some staying others painted over or scraped away until I find something that resonates with all the myriad things that I feel fit.
I think that most people are influenced by everything, and follow a process not too dissimilar than my own: Firs you choose what to paint, then you paint it, then you decide whether to keep it or not, and keep working until it all kind of gels into a cohesive whole. Some painters like to plan things out and then execute a plan, others, like myself, may have a plan but quickly let that go by the wayside when it is not working and follow their intuition. I once was told by an artist and teacher I respected that i had good instincts. It has taken about 20 years for me to understand this and accept it as truth. I think I am finally realizing that my instincts for what is true were correct in the beginning when I was young and not yet mature as a person or painter. The best advice I have to younger artists is this: Throw out anyone else's ideas about what you should be doing and follow your intuition. There is no "right" or "wrong" way to approach a thing, and I also don't think that there is really such a thing as a "great" artist. This idea that some artists are greater than others seems like a lot of hype and BS to me. Any processes that some older and well established artists have discovered have come to them in the same way that yours have come to you, through working.
I hope you enjoy the work, I will get back to my 20/40 series soon. I am stuck on who to write about at the moment and lacking the time to get good scans of the work I want to show.
Regards,
Bill Koeb
8.25.2010
5 comments:
I agree with your words.
And think that you really have good instincts...
Beecause you are a great draftsman... and a very good painter!
Thank you Eduardo, I appreciate you checking in and your kind words.
Bill,
I guess I was asleep at the wheel, because you beat me for the domain name. All of my relatives live in the Southwest. My mother and I live in Arizona. For years before the Internet we used to scan phone books in other cities looking for lost relatives. I'm not sure why, as we know our direct family tree from the time my great grandfather immigrated from Austria.
Love to correspond if you are so inclined.
Chris(topher Koeb
PS: you make some very interesting Art.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for contacting me and checking out my work. I've had koeb.com for about 15 years or so. It's been where I exhibit and market my work as a painter and illustrator. I will most likely have it for as long as there is an internet. (That's the plan at least) I'd be happy to correspond.
Regards,
Bill
Some of the mark making reminds me of Kokoska. I'll be anxious to see how you resolve it!
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