I have moved into a new art studio located in the SSCA gallery building in Minneapolis. Studio visits by appointment only.

J. M. Culver
SSCA Gallery building
1905 3rd Ave S, Studio #12
Minneapolis, MN 55404

I thought I had sprained my ankle two months ago, but didn’t have any insurance to go to the doctor to have x-rays taken. I finally have insurance and was able to go to the doctor today. My ankle is actually broken and I’ve been walking on it for two months now. So it hasn’t healed properly. I have to go to a specialist on Monday and will most likely have it re-broken, reset, and put in a cast. It’s going to be a long recovery process. The doctor said that I broke it in the worst spot.

I was standing on my feet for up to 10 hours last week painting. It’s hard to believe I was doing that on a broken ankle. It was painful but I was determined to get my paintings done. I’ve been disappointed that I wasn’t able to complete 25 new paintings for the deadline, but I was able to complete 14 new paintings on a broken ankle – so I don’t feel so bad anymore.

I will have to work on smaller paintings until my ankle heals and I am able to stand again. I’m also going to work on some jewelry pieces and continue to work in my visual journals. My leg may be immobile for a while, but I still have my arms…and I will paint, paint, paint!

Update (12/09/09):
My ankle healed without having any surgery. I had to wear a brace for many months. A year later, I have bad arthritis and have had to go back to the ortho specialist for anti-inflammatory injections. It still causes some discomfort but doesn’t prevent me from continuing to stand while I paint/draw.

I apologize for not posting on my blog in quite some time. I’ve been on somewhat of a hiatus the past few months where I’ve been trying to get things re-organized in my life. I’ve been working on my finances and setting up a new art studio space. Everything is coming together nicely and my studio space is almost fully set up.

I am building a painting drying rack/storage space and a new adjacent wall in the studio. I’m also adding new light fixtures, carpet, and bringing in some new chairs, stools, and tables to work on. Unfortunately, there was a terrible accident today. One of the old ballister’s exploded brown chemical sludge on top of my new drawings and framed watercolor paintings. The chemical sludge even made its way underneath the glass to the paintings. Several pieces were completely destroyed. At least none of these pieces were from my professional portfolio but they were still very good pieces. I am glad that I had a chance to photograph them before this happened. But I am deeply saddened by this.

I went to Blick Art Supply today and purchased 28 studio gallery wrapped canvas’s at 70% off. It’s so exciting when there is such a great discount on art supplies. I have enough canvas to create new paintings for the upcoming MCAD Art Sale. I’m going to go back to purchase more canvas before the sale is over on October 12th.

I’m starting the new paintings tonight. I will post new artwork as it is completed and will try to keep my blog updated as much as possible since I have everything situated in my life and studio again. So keep your eyes open and check back again soon for new work.

I just finished my “Transformation (Self Portrait)” painting. I decided to leave the lower portion gestural and didn’t want to add too much detail. I like that the painting is very loose, has a lot of energy and conveys a sense of anxiety. I’m happy with the final painting. It may take a while to fully dry in the lower portion because the paint application is fairly heavy.

.

I went shopping two days ago. I bought 13 frames and 20 sheets of paper at the art store, which I got for under $100 (what a deal!). I decided to go down the side of the house to the basement studio. There was quite a bit of snow but it didn’t look too icy. I made it down the hill, with a pile of frames in my hands, but my foot hit a sheet of black ice right before I made it to the door. I came crashing down with the frames on the pavement. I was actually more worried about the frames than if I had hurt myself. Luckily the frames didn’t break or even get scratched, but my knees weren’t so lucky. I survived with some scrapes and bruises and mostly just a lot of soreness from the fall. I will no longer go down the side of the house to the studio during the winter.

I woke up early this morning to go to work in the studio. It’s always so exciting to have fresh new pieces of paper and canvas to work on. I’m starting a series of gray portraits. I’m going to finish the first painting today. It is a painting of a mixed media drawing that I did a couple years ago titled “Transformation (Self Portrait)”. It is a very strong piece. I’m incorporating charcoal with my new series of oil paintings. I’m also working on a series of mixed media drawings that I’d like to exhibit at my solo show at Java J’s this month. I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I’ve been thinking of starting an artist group here in the twin cities. There are many out there already but most are just general artist groups where they let pretty much anybody in. I’ve thought about limiting the group to members who are primarily painters or work in a “painterly” approach. 

 The problem with this is that I’d still want to limit this group to fine artists who have solid, good work that’s not underdeveloped. And also, artists who know how to talk about art and give constructive criticism.

I love to meet new artists no matter what medium they work in, but do not want all artists to be in the artist group. I don’t feel that it is very beneficial to have crafters, photographers, or designers in a artist critique group. It makes more sense to have people with similar work and ideas to connect with and discuss each other’s work.

I’d like to even break it down to “fine art figurative painters” if possible. The problem is that we are getting so selective here that is it even possible to get enough people in the group. But then again, I think it is better to have 4 or 5 strong artists together than 50 random artists that share nothing in common.

When I saw “figurative painters” – I don’t mean work that is just of portraiture or the narrative figure. I am interested in finding artists that are influenced by the figure in their work. I have work that would be considered more abstract to most people, but it was influenced and derived from the figure. So I think this really opens the group more.

The other issue is that there should be either some sort of review process and/or seeking out artists to join. It may come across as a bit “elitist” but I think it is necessary to have a successful group.

If you have any extra time on your hands, you should visit the Improv Everywhere website. My absolute favorite so far are the Redheads protesting at Wendy’s. I was laughing non-stop while reading and viewing the page. I actually got side-tracked and lost on this website for almost 2 hours yesterday. But it was worth it. 

I have been getting up at 5 am every morning recently and completely wide awake. I’m ready to go down and work in the studio. It’s warmed up here in the Twin Cities, so I think I’ll be able to work in the studio without heat just fine. When the temperatures go negative, it is almost impossible to work in the studio. You can actually see your own breath it is so cold.

But away I go……

Art Happy Hour
The Independent, on Wednesday, February 13 (3 to 9 pm)

The following information was taken from the Art Happy Hour website:

“The Art Happy Hour! is a monthly gathering of Minnesotans who appreciate the finer things in life, especially: A.) Art, and B.) Happy Hour.

The Art Happy Hour! posits that the world would be a much better place, on the whole, if more people enjoyed the following things: A.) Art, and B.) Happy Hour.

For those of you who still aren’t getting what we’re saying here, consider this:

Art (according to the fine folk at Wikipedia) (for lack of a more convenient source of information) “refers to a diverse range of human activities and artifacts, and may be used to cover all or any of the arts, including music, literature and other forms.”

We take art to refer to the same, and anyone who is into any of these things is welcome to join in the Art Happy Hour! Meanwhile, also consider this:

Happy hour (also according to Wikipedia) is “a period of time in the late afternoons, Monday through Thursday, and sometimes Friday (usually taking place between 4 pm and 7 pm…) during which some restaurants and bars give discounts for drinks, especially alcoholic drinks. The idea is that it acts as a promotion of the venue during the quieter times.”

Art Happy Hour! considers happy hour to be one of civilized society’s better rituals, the best time of the week to unwind from work, to join in good conversation, and allow oneself have high spirits (in all senses of the phrase). Plus, happy hour makes the wheels of commerce go round!

Here’s our mission: The Art Happy Hour! will take place once a month somewhere across the great metropolis of Minneapolis-St. Paul. It will a good time for all. It will be sometimes epic, sometimes underwhelming (especially if there’s a snow storm). It will be artistic and happy.

Of course, we promote the idea of responsible and safe drinking and encourage participants to consider arranging transportation when engaging in a good happy hour. We want everyone to live long ornery lives full of art and happy hours, but we can take no responsibility for people’s behavior, such as it may be.

Happy Art Happy Hour!”
arthappyhour.com

**********************************************
This is the first month for Art Happy Hour. I like the idea and seems like a good opportunity to meet and network with other artists or art enthusiasts.

I want to go to this. Any other artists wanna go with me?  Shoot me an email or give me a call.

Thank you for everyone that attended the “Anxiety Dreams” opening friday night. It was very successful and so crowded that you could barely walk through the gallery rooms. I had over 30 close friends and acquaintances attend who I had invited personally. Multiply that number by all the other artist’s friends and you get a tons of people.

Plus, the “Bitter Fruits” opening was going on at the same time and there were 80 artists showing work. I think that it would have worked better to have had the openings on separate nights. It was so crowded and so many people to say hello to that it was pretty much impossible to have a conversation about my work. I was so busy meeting and greeting that I couldn’t take the time to go over to my work with individual people and have a real discussion. I also wasn’t able to meet too many of the artists sine they were so busy meeting and greeting everyone around them as well. So I was a bit disappointed in that aspect. But I had a great time and it is exciting to see so many people show up for the openings.

I only have a few photographs that were taken so far. I know some friends were busy with taking pictures and hope they ended up with better ones than I did. I actually just gave my digital camera to my roommate before we headed out to the opening. I asked him if he would take some photos of my work, of myself, and friends whenever he had the chance. I usually bring the camera, but am always too busy talking to people to be able to take photos. We actually had to wait until the very end of the night to take the photos of my work because it was too crowded to get any good shots.

If you didn’t get the chance to come to the opening. You can still view my artwork as well as all the other artwork in the exhibit for “Anxiety Dreams” at the Q.arma building in Altered Esthetics Gallery until February 28th, 2008. Please stop by if you have the time.

“Anxiety Dreams”
Altered Esthetics Gallery
1224 Quincy St. NE, Minneapolis
www.alteredesthetics.com

There are certain words that really bother me, make me cringe, or even hold my breath when I hear them. A lot of people have the same issue with certain curse words, especially women with words like cunt or pussy as an example.

I am really bothered when people use the word “style” when referring to a fine artist’s work. I will usually correct someone when using this, especially when referring to my own work. I guess you could just call me a “fine art snob”.

One of the major distinctions between illustration and fine art is that illustrators have a specific style in how they work, while a fine artist “reacts” and “approaches” subject matter. Yes, a lot of fine artists have similiarity within their work but it is not stylized unless influenced specifically by illustration.

Personally, there is a wide variety within my work because I approach things based on the concept and subject matter. I don’t want to force a “style” just to create consistency within all bodies of work. I think it’s important to have an honest reaction to your subject matter, even if that means that you have many different approaches with all your work.

Please, please when you are discussing fine art use the word “approach” instead of “style”.

Another phrase that really bothers me is when people say “artsy fartsy”. It is a repulsive term. It really undermines the fine art and makes it seem like you are dismissing it as low-brow or bullshit art. I know it’s usually used in a more playful manner but I am very bothered by this term no matter how it is used. I think it’s much worse when an artist refers to himself or herself as being “artsy fartsy”. Why can’t you just say artistic or creative?

One more thing that drives me crazy is what many artists write for their artist statement. This really isn’t a pet peeve word, but it makes me roll my eyes every time I read the sentence. “I have been creating art since I was a kid…..” “Every since I can remember I have been painting” “I started drawing when I was 5 years old…”. Don’t write this EVER in an artist statement!

EVERY artist started drawing when they were a kid. Actually every body on earth started drawing when they were a kid. You shouldn’t talk about artwork you did as a kid unless you are still a kid or teenager. I even see artists that are in their 40s that still have this in their artist statement.

You don’t even need any information about high school in there. Just put a quick sentence on what degree you have if you went to college. That is good enough. Move on. Talk about what you’ve been doing since you have been a serious artist. Of course it is okay to mention childhood if your work is influenced by it, but don’t say you’ve been painting since you were a kid. It’s a given.

There are other pet peeve words or sentences in relation to fine art that bother me, but these are the major ones that always come to mind and unfortunately I see or hear way too often.