Basics Of Brilliance

Harley Brown’s fascinating things no one else will tell you

Greatness doesn’t have to be the grand masterpiece Sistine Chapel, Tale of Two Cities or Gone with the Wind. An inspiring work can be quite basic like John Singer Sargent’s painting of a fence post; one of my favorite TV documentaries, The Queen’s Garden; or a book, like the straightforward The Old Man and the Sea. Ah and yes, I recall five sentences of advice from one of my lifetime heroes of art. Simple to complex, our art world cannot always have logic, it needs to be experienced.

Artists can ponder elaborate projects; they certainly have an importance, but once in a while, all artists believe in “artistic breathers.”

While we’re on the subject, I have new artists that have totally reached me: spiders. Their webs are absolutely masterly. Each one is totally unique in its beauty. I’m also impressed that if a web is destroyed, another will soon take its place. One even more brilliant. I’m bringing this up because nature’s fascinations continue to teach us. I’m an ultra-student.

Gastown I’m here to proclaim that one of the most interesting places on Earth is Gastown in Vancouver, British Columbia. I was there a couple of weeks ago, and it took my mind to areas I thought were lost forever. To explain would be impossible, but somehow it revived certain creative corners that needed a wakeup. And here I am… it also took me to my revelatory art college days when virtually everything was beginning in my life from artworks, relationships, visuals around every corner, and yes, a few relaxing moments with espresso coffee.

My Own Techniques

I’ll stop my painting before it is “finished” in the academic sense. Before my obsessive fussing would take over like a masked bandit…stealing my heartfelt dabs and strokes. I want the viewer to see the subject and also the artist.