| January 5th, 2001
Dear Artist, A man phoned while I was working in the studio the other day and announced that he had bought one of my paintings in a Salvation Army Thrift Store. To add insult to injury he told me he paid $7 for it. I asked him if he liked the painting and he said he had been following my work for some considerable time and this was the worst one I had ever done. Then he told me he had traded the painting to another fellow for a couple of "very fine early English watercolours." Apparently this other fellow is more into my stuff, I thought. "That's good," I said. "Well," said the telephone guy, "my friend looked at it for a month and decided it was one of the worst ones you've ever painted." I put down my brush. "He ended up getting rid of it in the auction--got four thousand for it." I asked him what the painting looked like and he told me it was a large square abstract, mostly brown. "Do you remember that one?" he asked. "I do," I said, "very well." We made a few more pleasantries, agreed to keep in touch, and I went back to work. Several weeks previously one of my dealers had phoned to say there was an "early" one of mine in an auction and that it might be a good idea to "protect the price," or perhaps even buy it to get it off the market. The dealer, who had better things to do that evening, attended the auction, overbid some courageous soul, and ended up with the lot in his 4x4. As agreed, my current check was docked appropriately. One day, out for a cruise, I dropped by the gallery, thanked my dealer, and took away the offending item. On the day the Salvation gentleman phoned the painting was pouting silently in the corner of my studio. Shortly after that it found its way to the bonfire. Lesson? When you paint--try to burn your bad ones earlier rather than later. Best regards, PS "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." (Alexander Pope) Esoterica: Robert Henri, author of "The Art Spirit," was a teacher who believed an artist had to pass through layers of growth and development in order to attain not only proficiency, but satisfaction. It was no slur that an artist might attempt everything and anything. "Every professional was once an amateur," he said. If you would like to see selected responses to the previous letter "Mentoring," please go to http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/mentoring.htm. Here you will also find further information on the current effectiveness of on-line galleries. This letter and previous ones appear in French at www.painterskeys.com/fr |
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Robert Genn is one of Canada's most accomplished painters, having gained international recognition for his genre subjects on Canada's West Coast. He has painted in most parts of Canada, and in the United States, Central America, Europe and Asia. Born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1936, he attended Victoria College, The University of British Columbia and The Art Centre School in Los Angeles, California. |
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Bob carries on the tradition of the Canadian Landscape with fresh, painterly techniques and strong design, often and especially exhibiting his devotion to painting by reducing grand themes to small panels - painted in the wilderness he loves.
Visit his official site for more information on his art and books. Robert is a contributing editor to WetCanvas! and can be reached via email at rgenn@wetcanvas.com. Robert Genn's free twice-weekly letters can also be sent to you via email every Tuesday and Friday mornings by notifying him via e-mail at rgenn@wetcanvas.com. |
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