Happy New Year

There are a number of things I hope to accomplish in the comming 365 days... things I need to learn, things I need to change, things I need to continue. I don't like the whole resolution concept, life tends to overwhelm those last minute promises and they are left behind in a trail of mild regrets... There isn't any reason to make more promises to myself that I will not keep in the end.

So instead I've found two quotes that I feel are very fitting for me at this time.

"It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else." - Henri Matisse

"The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity" - Alberto Giacometti

The words of Matisse touch my soul. It is a feeling of inadequacy that I relate to very deeply. Knowing that an artist such as himself could possibly have felt the same is both confounding and reassuring.

The Giacometti quote is so powerful, it gives me hope and comfort as a reminder that in this time of photo-realism & stunning computer generated art, there is still a place for an artist like myself if I continue to push myself to create the emotional intensity in my work that each subject sparks in my heart.

I wish for us all an inspiring and fulfilling new year!

- Joyce Brandon