There’s something magic about seeing artwork in the place where it’s created - it’s like climbing a tree to get a look inside a bird nest. Or touring a factory to see all that goes into something you previously thought of as a single simple object.
I'm never not transfixed and deeply grateful for the chance to look around another artist’s studio. I love looking at the raw material before it's transformed and the rejects and junk made along the way. I always look out for the cork board where artists typically pin up scraps of inspiration - old snapshots and color samples and postcards and ripped-out catalog pages. There’s so much life and messiness and mystery in these things off to the side.
As much as I love open studio events, I’ve never had one myself. This coming Second Saturday will be my first time hosting visitors in the place where I started painting landscapes a year ago.
I know I know: I'm such a newbie! In addition to being a new OSA member I’m a relatively new Ojai person and a pretty recent capital-A artist (still have a hard time with that label - tho I’m increasingly convinced we’re ALL born artists and all it takes to call yourself an artist is to MAKE THINGS. That’s a whole other topic - happy to discuss when you come visit!)
Other things I’d love for you to do on your visit here:
- Check out the original Ojai landscapes and the portraits and pieces created in conversation with my late grandmother Betty, an incredible painter from Cape Cod whose work is teaching me the craft and art of oil painting.
- Enjoy the 100-year-old olive grove and oak trees on the 2-acre property.
- Flip through one of the 100-plus illustrated journals from my previous life as an author/illustrator/dad.
- Pick up a signed copy of one of my four books: “Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cupcakes and the Reinvention of the American Grown-Up” (Crown/Random House), “Plus One: A Novel” (Prospect Park), Good Trouble: Lessons from the Civil Rights Playbook” (Abrams) and “Can We Talk About Israel” (Bloomsbury)
- Look through framed and unframed giclee prints.
- Say hi to Yogi. You can’t miss him - he’s the little reddish goldendoodle who I hope will not freak out completely at the procession of newcomers.
- Have a glass of something! Refreshments shall be served.
Looking forward to seeing you!
Christopher
Comments