More About Ten

This notion of doing ten, developing a consistent body of work, is slippery. On the one hand, the artist needs consistency, but not repetition. Same old, same old, from one painting to the next, isn’t a solution to making ten. Seeing the same answers in every painting is simply boring. Invention is necessary. On the other hand, if the artist wants to make ten that are all the same, then the artist must understand their process. 

One way to think about a consistent body of work is to consider families. Families share characteristics and qualities, but, unless they are identical twins, rarely look alike. Cousins are related, similar, but not identical. It is in this sense that the artist creates a family, a body of work that are like siblings, by inventing variations on a core idea, finding unique solutions to their work. Rather than simply repeating, the artist can create a series of ten by interpreting, transposing, adding, subtracting, embellishing, re-focusing, altering color palettes, paint handling, imagery, as well as by adopting other actions. 

Another slippery notion is “Style.” While it is true that an artist’s style emerges from the artist’s process, viewers often see only the end-product and not the process. The artist must understand HOW to make their work to be able to create a consistent, discernable style. But what about the artist who works in a multitude of styles? I am sympathetic to that approach to “style,” but appearances count. I don’t show the work until I have ten. One is not enough.