The Painter's Keys Content Archives
Our archive is a rich art resources of creative content and art advice. The archive contains every one of the Robert Genn Twice Weekly Letters and clickbacks since the year 2000. Our system is to carefully edit a large daily volume of incoming feedback from the letters--and to reduce it to a terse and economical amount of reading. Duplication only occurs by nuance, veracity is checked, point of view is encouraged, and a balanced, timeless collection is the result. By so doing we have formed a world-wide creative art community--a brotherhood and sisterhood where all flags fly.

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The idea of multiple intelligences throws light on the uniqueness of the artist brain. We all have something to offer. Finding our type and knowing the pitfalls is half the fun. Read On

Two friends decide to collaborate on the making of a painting. Methodology and technique are discussed, illustrated and analyzed. The results are 'interesting.' Read On

Robert shows how a simple understanding of a facet of human nature can be put to work to speed progress and raise standards. Available to all, it’s a path not always taken. Read On

Not everyone might compare the making of a work of art to a battle tactic. Comparing the brilliant insights of a 19th century war tactician gives us an understanding of the creative process. Read On

Many artists turn to expert advice and authority figures in their search for creative success. Robert weighs the pros and cons of telephone seminars, and recommends a good one. Read On

A reader wonders about channelling negative energy into the production of art. Robert answers the conundrum of why good work is often made during the aftershock of bad events. Read On

A reader asks whether it's okay to copy someone else's work and sell it. Robert lays down the law on the current moral malaise plaguing the art game. Read On

"Thank-you notes" looks at unique ways to further communicate your passions to those who collect your work. Without going overboard, it's a subtle way of giving added value and cementing connections. Read On

"Dynamic painting" describes a painting approach and a state of mind that professionals use to get quality results. Some practical techniques and leaning on your nervous system get you into the zone. Read On

Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers reexamines concepts of success with new research and insight. Robert sums up some of Gladwell's principal ideas and shows how they may impact on the lives of artists. Read On

Robert's self-published coffee-table book 'Love Letters to Art' has almost sold out in a year. Robert shares the potential value of this sort of effort as a communication tool for artists. Read On

The 'power hour' system can be used to increase both productivity and quality. Keeping track is part of the fun. Robert shows a few basic habits that lead to creative progress. Read On

Tiny eye movements called microsaccades have recently been understood as keys to our subconscious thoughts. Our eyes flicker toward our desires, and artists might take notice. Read On

'The Nigerian Scam' is alive and well on the Internet. Artists need to be vigilant. If you do end up receiving a cheque--wait, wait, wait until it clears before you send anything. Read On

Glazing is one of the most undervalued painting techniques. Here are a few glazing keys that might just help you to give greater depth, visual excitement, tone balance and painterly truth to your work. Read On

Barack Obama, with the help of a few informed creative folks, has devised a cultural program that might just be a winner. Some of these ideas could have a profound effect on people like us. Read On

Abusive relationships, including that of fathers, spouses and other family members can influence and derail careers in art. At the same time, art offers a choice occupation for many who have been abused. Read On

The art of teaching has both benefits and dangers. Robert reflects on the thoughts of American author John Updike, and the steps one might take to understand the 'teacher-mind.' Read On

A subscriber wonders if successful artists sell pretty well everything they make. Robert tells how to maximize the fun, and gives some candid information on creative success. His answer may surprise you. Read On

Looking at the role icons have played in the history of the Eastern Orthodox faith, one notices the parallel to other art forms, how they conform to cultures, and how all artists, in a way, are iconographers. Read On

Visiting with and observing some whirling dervishes gives insight into the effects of an all-absorbing activity similar to the making of art. The idea is to draw the mind to a higher understanding of self. Read On

A few hours spent in a Turkish bazaar gives an understanding of how the universal marketplace works. Any artist or craftsperson can learn basic lessons that will be with mankind for a while yet. Read On

The ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle had something to say to the creative people of today. It's about dialogue between people and peoples, and between mere mortals and the art they make. Read On

Gurus are hard-wired to help others achieve their goals. But there are a few things you need to know about the guru business before you jump into bed with one of them. Read On

Nowadays many artists are concerned with the problems that an economic downturn will have on their progress. But it's not all bad news, particularly for the independent creative spirit. Read On

Here are some often overlooked painterly ploys that can distinguish the professional from the amateur. Even the pros forget about them once in a while, but many of the old masters, like Michelangelo, never forgot them. Read On

A subscriber wonders what can be done when her art group is breaking up. There are four distinct actions that the remaining members can take... Read On

It may be that you need to go back to the basics to realize the works of your dreams. A firm grounding in academic technique is the proven key to a distinctive style and evolved creative personality... Read On

The struggles of an early painter among the mountains of Yoho Park in British Columbia give latecomers a key to creative joy. Extractions from old unpublished journals give insight to current problems... Read On

The uneven playing field has been with us for some time. Just when I think things are improving for women, I see setbacks. In art, where taste can be arbitrary and buyers don't have a lot of confidence, the old shibboleths of safety, male superiority and ego-force kick in. Women artists need to fight it and men artists need to back them... Read On

The rise and fall of testosterone and cortisol have a profound effect on the way we perform in more tasks than one. Recent research gives an idea how these hormones might be influencing your creative life. Read On

The composer John Cage had some valuable ideas for artists of all stripes. Through a lifetime of worship at the altar of 'work,' imagination flowed. He was a Renaissance man of the twentieth century. Read On

Artists need a place, a physical work-space, where they can wake up working. It's this place that becomes a sort of factory of mind, spirit and methodology--where processes are defined and skills are honed. Read On

There are a few things you need to know if you're thinking about trying the new slow-drying Golden Open Acrylics. You'll also have lots of time for blending, softening, reworking and playing around, and you'll learn some new techniques. Read On

Have you ever wondered how to grab onto and work your early childhood muses? This letter gives a key to accessing your true artistic purpose and the potential quality that can arise from the connection. Read On

How important is consistency and unique style in an artist's works? What does it do to the artist's creative path? What, in the long run, does it do for the artist's pocketbook? The subject is discussed in "The look." Read On

How do people get to this state of inner strength? How does unconscious confidence apply to fields like ours? Read On

My dad used to say that I led a charmed life. He'd say, 'He's never had a job, he loves what he does, he's a happy guy and he always seems to have enough money to do what he wants and look after everyone else.'... Read On

Failed works of art and even disappointing passages, particularly recent ones, can haunt and disarm your current work. You may have noticed when returning from a holiday, you sometimes paint freshly and well for a few days and then the old decay sets in... Read On

Encouraged by his mother and people at the Provincial Museum, Fen was painting birds at age 13. Right from the get-go Fen could really draw. He didn't lean on photos, but rather assembled and designed individual bird portraits from his considerable field knowledge and his own elegant sense of composition... Read On

The fun begins in the world of creativity. It seems that larks have an advantage in concentration and inventiveness, but owls are the ones who hold up the best in the long run. Larks tend to cave in and become dullards when deprived of normal sleep. Owls tolerate sleep-deprivation better... Read On

In Lucca I've borrowed a friend's workshop for a sanctuary. Wine cellar and bicycle garage, it's a tiny grotto in the bowels of a 13th century home, its main wall contingent to the base of an 11th century church... Read On

Music moves us on a level that visual art does not. It's knitted in a prescribed time and is not editable like a passage through the Uffizi Gallery. Goodness, I spoke to a chap who went up to Florence and "did" the Uffizi in an hour. The gilt of guilt, the miracles of legend, the holy wars, and the soft arrival of the free spirit take application to digest. Many cannot take the time. Music will always be a quicker fix... Read On

You can't go anywhere around Lucca without bumping into the operatic composer Giacomo Puccini. He's everywhere--museums, posters, walls, books, postcards, schools and freestanding displays advertising the current Puccini Festival. His music drifts from cafes and salon pianos... Read On

Artists need to be mindful that their work may be around for a while. Quality work--if history deems it quality--tends to endure. Artists need to give thought to the future, for their work may be repeatedly cleaned, relined, touched up or given the whole nine yards of restoration... Read On

New places and new materials are both a challenge and a joy. Because we're trying to get the pesto right, home-based studio time flies out the window. We're reminding ourselves there are three main ways to bring areas of colour up to one another... Read On

Habits lead the way to personal processes. The idea is to fall in love with your processes. When you do fall in love, you'll know it. Other doors closing can speed the joy... Read On

Renaissance means 'rebirth.' It's a term that refers to the intellectual and artistic movement that began in Italy in the 14th century, culminated with Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael in the 16th, and has influenced thinking and creating ever since... Read On

Fact is, some dealers would get paintings for free if they could. The grapevine is full of stories of dealers paying peanuts for art they later sell for cashews. Owners or inheritors of potentially valuable art should be aware of this. It's a jungle out there... Read On

Apart from the fact that in some places it's not possible to work with full paraphernalia, lapworking provides surprising spot-on accuracy--more than in arm's-length easel or pochade-box painting. Rotation of the work, tilting, and holding it out are also quick and easy... Read On

I do, however, continue to believe that sport-painting has the least impact on the environment--way less than sports such as hunting and fishing. In painting, you take from the environment without taking anything from it... Read On

It's like the convention of retirement, only in shorter and more frequent increments. The idea is to calculate and bend a sense of leisure into specific creative times. Like retirement activities such as golf, boating or woodworking, work is required. In the Zen-like mode, work is not so onerous, but it is still work... Read On

When an artist's name is perceived by the artist to be inappropriate, hard to explain, or ugly, the quality of work may suffer. Healthy artists are comfortable with their names. They enjoy seeing their name on their work, as well as on cheques, incoming and outgoing. They are okay with hearing their name said, both in public and quietly in their ear... Read On

While painting, I'm reflecting on the crazy parallel universe of art dealing and art speculation. What has my daily plodding got to do with what happens to the stuff I make? Read On

Mobile workstations are only limited by an artist's imagination or inclination. Odd-ball transport gives unique material, new perspectives, as well as adding oft-needed variety and opportunity. Apart from that, they add even more fun to an already fun job... Read On

A useful ploy in plein air work is to try to achieve a state of rest. Painting from a box works well with the relaxed mode of cottage life--walking, bird watching, fishing, or just listening to the murmur of the water. When rest arrives... Read On

Immersion means inhaling a total environment. With time and persistent observation the artist gains an understanding of the anatomy of a place. Often, the idea is not to copy scenes or tableau, but rather to put down in paint the spirit one finds there... Read On

Control is one of life's principal actions. Parents, kids, husbands, wives, bosses, employees--all attempt some level of control over one another. In the self-motivated world of private art-making, control starts with self-control... Read On

Researchers conclude that animal activities are based on both inherited traits and observational learning. Further, creative and inventive tendencies run in families and species. For example... Read On

I've seen a few fairly good copies of my own work, done without my permission. At first glance they look okay. At second glance the painters haven't figured out the order I do things, and they've not rendered well the deviations and mannerisms... Read On

The minute you awaken, proceed like a zombie to your studio. Before your kettle has boiled, before you have checked your email, squeeze out and prepare your palette... Read On

And then there's the palette. My backpacking sorties have taught me to keep it light and simple. Actually, a limited palette is a big plus because it teaches creative mixing... Read On

What these guys are talking about is a redefinition of happiness, and I think they're onto something. Life's not about getting free of pain, but rather finding happiness through service to some process with links to a higher ideal... Read On

Some landscape painters, dead and alive, don't do convincing figures. People are a tough order. But there's more to it than that. With the rise of rugged individualism and the concept of... Read On

Fact is, perfection is boring. Shibui allows viewer participation in the artist's art. It's particularly valuable in an age of highly finished and sophisticated machine-manufactured products. Shibui comes naturally... Read On

Vincent van Gogh died in 1890. Theo van Gogh, art dealer and brother of Vincent, died six months later, in 1891. Johanna, Theo's wife, inherited all the shop remainders including virtually all of Vincent's work. She soon moved with her small son from Paris to Bussum near Amsterdam. Johanna, age 29, went into distribution mode... Read On

Overworking takes place when you lose control. As you fail in facility and freshness, you try to save the day with fiddle and fuss. The passage looks laboured... Read On

The heuristic process means achieving some desired result by intelligent guesswork rather than by systematic formula... Heuristic thinking generally results in reasonably close solutions. The benefits are speed and expediency... Read On

... that's why the current Orphan Works Act now being considered by the U.S. Congress is particularly baffling. Promoted by dough-head non-artists who are obviously listening to big-time lobbyists, this bill says that you the artist must now officially register every single work you wish to protect... Read On

When self-esteem is low, artists tend to give themselves a premature pat on the back. We all know of artists who are forever in a state of euphoric bliss about their essentially crumby art. These folks may rationalize that joy itself is enough, but it isn't... Read On

...One class seemed remarkably concerned with economics. "How much did you get for the first one you sold?" ($15.) "How much do you get for them now?" ($2000 to $50,000.) "What's the most you ever got for one?" ($100,000.)... Read On

When artists decide to go it alone, they have different stuff to think about. The ideal is to identify your particular and unique needs and then try to fulfill them. Nobody can much help you in this. Some artists need to shake off aspects of their art training, poisonous pedagogy or habitual methodology. Read On

Kerry Waghorn is one of the world's top caricaturists--his work syndicated in more than 400 newspapers, books and other publications... Likeness is a tough order. Caricatures present even more problems. Faces need to be simplified, yet personality and character still need to shine through... Read On

Most of our creativity takes place in the right back corner of our brains. In addition, many folks are able to toss the creative ball both fore and aft and port and starboard. One part of the brain can learn to do what another part becomes incapable of. We all have personal keys to developing our creative potential. Read On

...When we are overloaded with subject matter, we have an automatic tendency to neglect style and imagination. Subject matter is no match for spirit. Too much observation can change the creative event from one of spirit to one of rendering. Surprise, chance, illusion, personality, audacity, confidence and desire are the most affected. Abandonment and even desertion may have to be contemplated. Read On

It's been my thought that some juried shows need an appointed ombudsman to draw a line between copying and research. His or her decision needs to be final. Trouble is, copying other people's work and other people's subject matter is a traditional means of gaining proficiency. Read On

Door skin, or other thin plywood, is an excellent alternative to Masonite. I've seen no darkening or foxing on any of my panels over the forty-odd years I've been using them. Priming and preparing is a matter of personal taste. I like a couple of coats of clear acrylic medium so the colour of the wood is retained. Read On

While artistically sensitive folks may treasure paper art because of its difficulty and sensitivity, the general public often doesn't. Recently, the flooding of the market with inexpensive photo-lithos, photocopies and giclees has cast a negative light on all things paper. We need no snobbery or pecking order by media. We of the brotherhood and sisterhood need to go out of our way to praise and feature all works done with joy, integrity and quality. Read On

The creative life requires a steady progression of experimentation and discovery. First thing you know you'll feel refreshed and renewed rather than burdened with making a decision. Further, you will see a need for further refinement. Personal refinement of vision makes creativity worthwhile. Read On

When your studio work comes to a block or a problem, you need to put down your brush or send your laptop into sleep mode, and grab your hat. If you walk briskly, blood will soon be checking out the remote corners of your cortex. I've noticed that fresh ideas know no geographic spot. They merely appear, are there, and can go in a moment. Read On

The idea that specific colours have specific value has been around for a while. Universally, orange increases appetite. Blue relaxes patients after surgery. As wizards who stir the bubbling pot of illusion, we artists need to understand what power we have. Read On

Some of the other visual triggers on my list: Precious colour, Gradations big and small, Something personal, Something mysterious. The emotional brain readily and positively reads these and other indicators as they briefly but tenderly touch neural pleasure-points. Read On

Recently I had an opportunity to watch people buying my paintings. Many buyers appeared to me to just glance at a work and make up their minds then and there. This blink-of-an-eye was of course followed by the regular rationalizations that buyers go through when they're considering something. Neuroscience seems to indicate that advertising is most effective when some sort of desire synapse is triggered in a nanosecond. Read On

In his recent, remarkable book, 'America Alone,' Mark Steyn makes frequent mention of 'deferred adulthood.' Young people in their twenties and thirties are choosing to stay in their folks' homes and sidestepping responsibilities. The situation may not be helped by people like me who are always trying to get folks to access their inner child. Read On

Whether your work is in the National Gallery or in Heidi Fleiss's House of Ill Repute, your prices to the general public need to be the same. This means that only you control the final price. The percentage that various venues take is negotiated from your standard pricing. Wandering prices are most unfair to your collectors and spoil the steady upward progression an artist can enjoy during a lifetime of creativity. Read On

In my less palmy days I said yes to everything. I needed the money. Also, this had me do things I would not otherwise have done. But I soon realized that the customer's vision and my vision did not always match. As I became more confident, I adopted a compromise. I always said 'yes'--I never said 'when.' Read On

my daughter Sara and I were painting at the end of the Laniloa Peninsula, Oahu, Hawaii. From a parked car nearby, a young man in a white shirt and tie watched her out of the corner of his eye. he rolled down his window and said, 'That girl just took out a canvas and started painting. She hardly drew things out at all.' I told him the girl was my daughter and that she was working 'alla prima--all at once.' Read On

One of humanity's persistent habits is to colour ourselves with pigments and coloured objects. Interestingly, it's the colours black and white that have the most differentiating variations in the vocabularies of the world's languages. Next to black and white, red is the most popular colour. It's safe to say that with the advent of modern dyes and pigments, there is more colour around these days. Read On

What makes some of us better at our work than others? The answer lies not in over-control, or even trying to understand the mystery of the creative process. Each and every player needs to simply try to improve, a little bit here, a little bit there, as it comes. The secret is 'tweak.' Both Thomas Keller and Brad Bird say you can't force creative ideas. You build the creative environments that produce a creative state of mind. Both cook and film director aim at spontaneity. Read On

While preciousness of original art is a factor, there are many reasons for duplication, not the least of which is the potential extension of financial return. I've also talked to disappointed potential buyers who were sad to report an overabundance of prints. Somehow, there's still something pure about an original. Read On

I was at my easel when a courier delivered an envelope from a friend. The letter stated that in 1974 I had brought some of my work to his office, and he had never paid me for them. Over the phone, Lorne and I had a good laugh. I put his mind at ease by disclosing my own sloppy billing and sieve-like mind. I then ran them by my current price list, cut that in half, and he cut me a cheque. Read On

Sometimes it's a good idea to cruise your work to see if a few soft edges might improve things. Soft technique comes naturally to some. For others, the soft-hard push-pull has to be worked at. While feathered edges and soft transitions can give the feeling of speed and painterly freshness, achieving these effects can be time-consuming and fiddly. Read On

Edward Vincent wrote: "No matter what type of painting I do, my work looks infinitely better in half or reduced light." There are several significant deceptions happening when you view your work in half-light. Like buying a car in a dark alley, you're inclined to miss the flaws. Invite yourself to look at work in all lights, and Above all, take every work for a walk--outdoors. Read On

Gustav Klimt wrote little, avoided cafe society and shunned other artists. The love of his life--women. Klimt's "mood landscapes," cleansed his palette like Austrian sherbet. Telescopic and well-cropped subjects stack up and reduce material to two-dimensional designs and patterns. Read On

When we think of Chinese art, we generally think of pirate factories and their websites cloning Western artists. We need to think again. China is collecting and buying art big time and its emergence as a major art player is going to affect us all. Read On

Of all the ologies, Reflexive Relaxology is one of my favorites. Speed itself unlocks the imaginative mind, increases idea turnover, aids facility and goes a long way toward avoiding dull disasters. While it may be necessary to start slowly to understand and negotiate the banks and chicanes you will eventually take at speed. Read On

On a small beach in Baha, Mexico, I set up, shaded and alone except for an occasional beach walker and the skimming pelicans. A 20" x 24" proceeded, not bad, I thought, considering the wind and the blown sand. Leaving my easel, I joined our friends on their grander beach. When I returned the painting was gone. Read On

What technology, what storage, what's best? Some experts recommend CDs over DVDs. As both these formats can also degrade, top quality discs are recommended. Also, be careful to store them away from other electronic devices, moisture and heat, and check them every few years for signs of degradation. Read On

If I had to do it all over again I would have been archiving from the get go. On my recent visit to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles I attended an exhibit of the photographer Andre Kertesz. Kertesz attracted the help and advice of young archivists. These connections were to prove valuable, both for the historical understanding of photographic art and for his own rising star. Read On

I returned to my old school. The Art Center College of Design is now located on extensive acreage above Pasadena, California. Discipline is big at Art Center. This is no place for the sloppy. Make it tough, grind them down, squeeze the good juice out of the best, discard the others. Looking back, it's not a bad system. Read On

Houdon was a man of simplicity, high spirits and openness of mind. A witty conversationalist and raconteur, he'd go anywhere at any time for a mask of life or death. He even knew the gods, goddesses and saints, and found time to sculpt Jefferson, Washington and Franklin. Read On

Acupuncturists here in California claim results in cases of "high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, chronic and acute pain, fatigue, headaches, menopausal symptoms, pregnancy, infertility, weight and immune system issues." Read On

While it's possible to create interesting work without attention to order, for most of us it's difficult. Consciously or unconsciously, our personal sense of order is vital to both style and creative satisfaction. For example, painting from foreground to background rather than background to foreground creates differing effects. While practical logic might suggest one, creative logic might suggest the other. Read On

In good times and bad, galleries are always opening and closing. It's been my experience that it's not so much the times, but the mission of the individuals running the galleries. For those who merely hang acceptable pictures on walls and who wait around until people come in, a downturn in the economy can close them. On the other hand, many dealers, including those in out-of-the-way and depressed places, seem to weather all storms. Here are a few current and timeless qualities that keep them in business... Read On

Brigitte Nowak of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, wrote, 'Is there any chance that you might reprint the original letter sent to twenty friends that you mentioned in your book Love Letters to Art?' It was written on a vintage Spanish computer in an Internet cafe in Galaroza in the Sierra de Aracena, Huelva, Spain. There was no Esoterica, no clickback to follow, and no expectations. The first name on the list was Carolyn Millard. She's still accepting them. 'A Chance of Success' was sent on July 22, 1999. Read On