Oil Oil Oil Blog

Can I Crack the Scottsdale Art Market?

ewettstein — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:47:16 +0000

Gonna try. I just signed up to be in a book of artists adverts, sponsored by a Scottsdale art gallery owner who says he mails about 500 books to known art collectors. I buy a page for $209 and I’m in. So we will see. I’m going to submit one of my edgier paintings – “Facade series/Jerry Sandusky football coach and pedophile.” See if there are any art lovers up there who can see The Next Big Thing coming. This seems to me to be one good way to penetrate the art collector’s market up there. And they have the money! So, now, what to charge? Plenty, I think. Maybe $7 a square inch.

Mrs Pickles opines again on “art”

ewettstein — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:46:26 +0000

In today’s comic strip Opal Pickles is taking dust bunnies from under the furniture and sculpting them into actual lifesize bunnies made of dust. Earl Pickles says “You call that ART?” Opal replies, “I’m an artist…so it must be ART!”
I think the cartoonist Brian Crane is saying what I say – too much of what’s called art these days is just trash. Opal’s dust bunny rabbit won’t last long, and neither will much of what passes for art these days.
What do you think?

Mrs Pickles’ Thoughts on Art this morning

ewettstein — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:04:49 +0000

She says to Earl, “Maybe it’s time I tried experimenting in non-traditional art. You can do do anything these days and call it “art.” (the quotes are mine). I agree with her, and I think it’s unfortunate. The NYTimes art reviewers need to give us some new names for this stuff that does NOT include the word art.
For example, shouldn’t “performance art” really be called “micro theater?”
What do you think?

Is Performance Art just theater for the bored? And can a Big Rock really be art?”

ewettstein — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:19:07 +0000

My answers are yes and no.
As an artist myself, a lot of what passes for art today bothers me. For example. “performance art.” Is it art, or is it 5-minute theater designed for the fast food/ short attention span generation?
I think show biz and chutzpah have replaced ideas that stick to your memory. For example, this division of art called “performance art.” Meaning it’s not really art as we have known it, but It’s theater, and a very small theater at that, in place of something you can enjoy forever. This performance art lasts usually around the length of the idea, say 5 minutes, and then it’s over, never to be repeated. “Did you like that performance? Call me famous and I’ll come back in a month with another 5 minutes to entertain you.”
So, what do YOU think?

Or the wanna-be newest star of the LA art work…the Big Rock. The LA County Museum of Art has invested several million dollars in a new gimmick…a 340 ton, 21 foot high white boulder that they hope is to become their newest art star.
Come on. I think this is ridiculous. Some very articulate “artist” with connections (I’m guessing) sold the LACMA people on this being art. It’s arrival brought out a lot of people. Museum experts think this means it will attract more people once it’s in place. My guess is that it drew a crowd of 1000 because they were hoping it would fall off the truck that brought it. Actually, the trip planning was the work of art, the big rock not at all. The La Brea Tar Pit next door is more artistic. At least it’s an idea, an education, something that makes you think. But not this rock. It’s not even a pretty rock, all choppy and abused.
So, am I right?

Yesterday at McDonald’s Reading to Kids.Yikes!

ewettstein — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:38:39 +0000

My daughter Lisa and I read her book “The Puppies Who Love Art” twice (!) to energy deprived children at the new prototype McDonalds on Broadway at Camino Seco here in Tucson. It was fun, but oh so challenging. The kids who were listening were attentive, but there were many loose cannonballs of energy in the Playroom there, adults sitting along the perimeter with their quarter pounders and just chilling out while they wee ones burned off hours of sugar. The McD Manager on duty was very helpful and even assigned a lad to help us any way he could. They even bought us lunch! If you ever have to read to a group of children, sit down at their level, perhaps on the floor, but at least in a chair. Our first read was standing, and the second, sitting, worked much better. We got their attention much better.

New children’s book now available !!!

ewettstein — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:03:26 +0000

Just delivered! THE PUPPIES WHO LOVE ART written by my daughter Lisa Wettstein and illustrated by me. It tells the story of two dachshunds who love art, but can’t go to the downtown museum with their owners. While their people are gone, their Fairy Dog Mother appears and whisks them to a special dogs only art museum – the Dog Gone Good Art Museum – where they see 24 parodies of famous masterpieces by such artists as Andy Warhol, Picasso and van Gogh… but instead of people in the paintings, there are dachshunds. They love it, and then are whisked home in time to greet their humans returning from their museum. It’s a very clever little illustrated book and only $15.95.
To order one, go to 43 Books Publishing on this website.

Last Night was a Blast!

ewettstein — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:46:37 +0000

This has nothing to do with art, but a lot to do with me. Last night I performed with Odyssey Storytelling group downtown at the Club Congress in the old Congress Street Hotel.

The theme was “Quitting, Moving On” and I told the story of how in 1979 when I had a four-pack a day habit and packs were only .35 cents I quit smoking with a week of aversion therapy via electric shocks!

Sherie and Lisa and Gillian and Peter were there as well as two giants of the Tucson theatre world – Suz Claussen and Carolyn Reed. Plus two who also performed – Carol Marlowe, she of the famous censorship event at Flowing Wells years ago, and Steve Barancik, who has had a screenplay produced that won awards for him and cast members. And several of my friends and acquaintances came, including my Potty Patrol pal Fred Seger and his wife Cindi.

Anyway, it was a creative and personal success. I got laughs and applause and many kudos afterwards. A real high and all without a drink (until afterwards).

You should have been there.

Earl Wettstein