I used to think the concept of ‘finding your voice’ as an artist was a silly idea.

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I remember being in a gallery of Odd Nerdrum’s work several years ago, when a New York intellectual came up to one of his paintings and said: “Well, they are obviously well painted, he has some skill... but what is he trying to SAY?” 

I thought to myself: “He isn’t trying to SAY anything... Art isn’t about what you are trying to say, it’s about what you can do.” 

At the time, I judged his paintings to be nothing more than a demonstration of painterly ability. 

That was all I was focusing on, so that was all I saw...

 

It was appropriate for me then, because I had to hone my skill. It was important for me to be solely focused on technique, on process, on HOW he made the images that he made, and was able to achieve the masterful results he did. 

 

I’ve now come to understand that my obsession with his work over all these years, has not been simply about what he can DO... it is about more than just the PHYSICAL part of the process. 

What I have learned is that his paintings come from INSIDE him. They are, in fact, a way of speaking. He is, indeed, SAYING something. 

 

When we communicate with each other, we use symbols which we have agreed upon to create images and understanding in the minds of others. 

 

Words, speech, and symbols reveal inner states. In this way, they are a kind of psychic link between two people. 

 

I believe that the striving I witnessed as a student of Odd Nerdrum’s, and the yearning I feel within myself to actualize my full potential as an artist, is actually:

The desire to manifest outwardly, in a physical form, internal dimensions of experience.

There is a reason an artist spends so much time honing their skills: painting from life, observing nature, and attempting to craft the most perceptually REAL visual experience on canvas that they can.

This training is for the “Main Event” - It is training for the purpose of being able to create ‘bridges’ between the inner and outer world. 

 

This is what I intend to focus on now. 

It may not be all I ever do or think is important. 

But it is what holds the most excitement and matters most to me as an artist right now.

I want to USE MY VOICE. I want to make paintings that come from within... and connect within. 

I hope they will RESONATE with you.

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My upcoming show with the Art and Frame Emporium will highlight the very beginning of this new direction of striving for me, as well as several landscapes created ‘en plein air’ over the past several years. 

I hope you will join me for the opening reception. 

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Sincerely, 

Dustin