artist round table 2012

After much thought and reflection, Ray and I came to the decision this past weekend to hold another Artist Round Table in 2012. We don’t know exactly what it will look like, we do however know some things will be the same. Port Townsend is place steeped in art and although there are other artist communities around the US and indeed around the world, we are most familiar with PT and so the venue will remain the same. The process to participate will also remain unchanged i.e. by application, although we might tweak the questions a little bit. For a round table to work, the right mix of people need to be around the table so everyone participates in and benefits from the conversations. Ray will be giving a talk and leading the discussion as before and we will be inviting artists like David Noble and Wes Cecil to be at the table but they will be different artists for a different conversation. That brings me to a question someone asked last night about why we decided to host another round table.

Aside from believing the first round table was a hit and that it has helped those involved on their photographic journey begin to uncover their visual voice, we both feel the conversation needs to continue. Some photographers are hungry to move beyond just the craft and to real expression but few are discussing how that actually happens. Much of what is talked about speaks only to composition, photography rules, and visual design without getting into what making art really means for a photographer. I know this because I’ve been hounding Ray with questions for some time now and I’ve even dragged him to have similar conversations with other photographers. I don’t know the answers and I want to find out. I think one of the main reasons for the silence in this space is that we need to speak with artists about making art. To do otherwise would be like talking to a farmer about building a plane and hoping it will fly. (This is leads me to want to rant about unqualified people doing online image critiques but I will write about that in another post. Soon.)

I’d like to take a moment to talk about the painting in the image above. Several weekends ago I was in PT during the Artist Studio Tour and I visited with Dan Amell who has been a painter for over 20 years. He recently opened up a studio space in town to display and hopefully sell some of his work. I had a fascinating but short conversation with Dan on what compels him to paint. It’s when you have conversations like these that you get a window into understanding why and how people make the art they do. I am particularly taken with Dan’s bee paintings. Please check out his website and drop him a line. I am sure he will appreciate knowing what draws you to his work.

Stay tuned for more information about ART 2012 but in the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel contact me or Ray.