Technical paper : A successful artist

By : Lamonte Salter
Capstone
A2

Abstract
In every generation there is always a handful of children who grow up wanting to be an
artist ever since their first art class this was their dream. Although we tell kids that they can be
whatever they want if they just put their mind to it this is not the case for being a successful
artist. Being a successful artist is based on chance. This sounds very biased, considering that if
the quality of the content is favorable, then people will want to purchase it. However, that is not
the case, as art, in concept, is a living being and can change at any moment. Art is a reflection of
society, and society wants bold and daring. Not everyone can produce that at the right time.
The unpredictability of the art world is immense. There is no way to know who is the
next big thing. As weve seen with previous artist {i.e. van gogh, research some more} just
because you have talent doesnt mean that you will be successfully and have the ability to profit
off your works. Although you may get luck and be the next big thing.

Technical paper: A successful artist

In every generation there is always a handful of children who grow up wanting to be an
artist ever since their first art class this was their dream. Although we tell kids that they can be
whatever they want if they just put their mind to it this is not the case for being a successful
artist. Being a successful artist is based on chance. This sounds very biased, considering that if
the quality of the content is favorable, then people will want to purchase it. However, that is not
the case, as art, in concept, is a living being and can change at any moment. Art is a reflection of
society, and society wants bold and daring. Not everyone can produce that at the right time. Van
Gogh is a very good example of this, as he was an excellent painter, but during his lifetime he
could only sell his various works for pennies, as opposed to how people would currently wait in
line for hours to see one of his paintings. Furthermore, his artwork is now worth millions of
dollars, as opposed to the aforementioned price.
Vincent Van Gogh spent his life living with a variety of mental illnesses, and being
ridiculed by his family and town, because he did not choose an expected career. On countless
occasions he would choose to buy new paints rather than purchasing sustenance for himself. He
was an amazing painter, but just was not born in time for the next art boom, which was 40 years
after his death. He was largely self-taught, and tried many different styles, ranging from
impressionism to prints. Even with his talent, he was still deemed unsuccessful during his time.
In contrast to this is Andy Warhol, he is famous for his postmodern 80s pop art. He took photos
of ordinary objects and his friends, made prints with them and made the quad spread medium
very popular and famous. His art was what the pupils wanted at the time, it was bold and daring.
Exploring new mediums of self-expression he made millions off his art. He did all of this by
being lucky and being born at the right time and living at the center of the new world, New York

City. The only difference between the two men stylistically and artistically is that Andy Warhol
was born at the right time and Vincent Van Gogh was not.
So really there are only two types of artist; those who make it, and those who do not. A
local example of that is a man named Thor Johnson. His art is very unique and eclectic to say
the least, but people love him. His shows are always packed, and he sells his work at prices that
keep him living comfortably and get him recognition in many Dallas news and entertainment
publications. This content is questionable, bold, and absolutely daring. I am uncertain as to how
he is successful. I do not know what makes his art sell more than others. Perhaps it is location,
having connections with others in the community, or maybe it is plain luck.
In my experiences over the past 10 months I have found it very difficult to sell my art,
one thing that might be contributed to that is location. I'm trying to see in a small town in Texas,
many stores sell Christian paraphernalia and rustic wears. My works do not fit into that style,
which doesn't catch everyone's eye in the area. Secondly, no one knows who I am, I have put info
cards next to my works to hook people and be interested in what I have created and still nothing.
For instance, me trying to sell my art is very difficult considering my location and where
I am selling. I am working out of a small town in Texas, people love to look and comment and
ask about it but it's not to their taste. Which brings us to the concepts of taste and public appeal.
The art world is ever changing and it is constant and rapid. I am working with a very
much analog type of art that is old and people don't always want the classics. They want new,
bold, and daring. To some my art is bold for the fact of how it is made I have two line of works
going currently clay faces and diffusion canvases
The faces are made to be very real and reflect the beauty standards of African American
mainly hair. Given that I am Black, a very apparent part of my life is that our hair is never just

hair, with the ways that we have to force it to have to fit in a Eurocentric society to the styles.
There have been several time in the African American community has had movements of selflove and expression that happen in every generation a big part of that is hair. No matter where I
go I will always be prejudged for my physical appearance. To quote Paul Mooney If your hair is
relaxed white people are relaxed, if its nappy white people aint happy this is what I want these
faces to reflect. That is very bold and daring for the concept and ideas but to someone who
knows nothing about that it is bland or could even be just passed off as weird and quirky.
The canvases are an inclusion of chemistry and art in a visual way. The way that I make
it happen is that I get markers and color on a sheet of paper or canvas and add different types
of alcohols and in different concentrations to the papers to show absorption rates and the color
spectrums and wavelengths. Without a prior knowledge of some general chemistry that would go
right over your head. I actually got the concept from a lesson in chemistry in a lab we had done.
Along with this I have been doing some flame testing with clay, quartz crystals and composite
soil samples (Fig. 1). Each test has its own purpose and has a lab report that explains who and
why the samples react and why I chose to do so.

Flame testing of crystal and dirt (Fig. 1)

This was successful, I now know that the dirt I have dug up is terra cotta clay, and I may
be able to use it one of my pieces. Also it heated and cooked much faster than
anticipated. The quartz inversion process occurred much faster but that could also be
that I was 3 temperature cones higher than I need to be for it to happen.

The crystal did hold up but when some outside force/pressure was applied to it, it did
break apart. The crystal broke into small pieces but only in the area that had turned

white. I might be able to use this in the face that clay does shrink when it is heated and
due to the fact that the crystal breaks gives me the possibility to put crystal in a work
without it cracking or shattering as it shrinks.

Another thing is networking, who do you or just so happen to meet. So going to someone
else's art show and talking to people. But really it all about luck, the whole art business is about
luck just that is way too much to depending on like. A big principal about being an artist is the
possibility of taking on a secondary profession. A very common thing is becoming a teacher it
allows for the flexibility to create works at your own pace and there are long extended break
periods. This gives a safety net for income and allowance of time without too many conflicts.

The unpredictability of the art world is immense. There is no way to know who the next
big thing is. As weve seen with previous artist {i.e. Van Gogh, research some more} just
because you have talent doesnt mean that you will be successfully and have the ability to profit
off your works. Although you may get luck and be the next big thing.

References

Browne, E. (2013). 10 things about being an artist that art teachers don't tell you. Retrieved
February 22, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/feb/21/10things-art-teachers-wont-teach-you
Browne, E. (2013). 10 things about being an artist that art teachers don't tell you. Retrieved
February 22, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/feb/21/10things-art-teachers-wont-teach-you
Department of European Paintings. Vincent van Gogh (18531890). In Heilbrunn Timeline of
Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gogh/hd_gogh.htm (originally published October 2004, last
revised March 2010)
Wrbican, M. (2006). A Documentary Film. Retrieved March 28, 2016, from
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/andy-warhol-a-documentary-film/44/
Smart, L. (2014). 100 Dallas Creatives: No. 31 Critical Artist Thor Johnson. Retrieved February
22, 2016, from http://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/100-dallas-creatives-no-31-critical-artistthor-johnson-7097232