What’s the story?

The past few days I’ve been going crazy. My professor assigned a narrative painting for our next major project. She gave us only one day between classes to come up with a narrative, sketch, find resource images, and purchase our materials to stretch canvas in class. As you know from my previous entry, I have quite a commute to get any real art supplies … and I work full-time, so that means I can only go in the evenings… and I have children so either they come with me, or I find a babysitter. Not an easy task to complete in such a short period of time.

But it wasn’t the materials that had me so agitated. (Despite the traffic and hassle of going so far out of my way, Utrecht Art Supply in Los Angeles never lets me down.) It was the narrative itself that was weighing heavily on me and affecting everything I did. The point of narrative painting is to tell a story, or at least to hint at one.

One of the most famous artists of this genre is the slice-of-all-American-apple-pie Norman Rockwell. His scenes depicted idealized life in America, each one telling a quaint story with a simple action or expression on the faces of his subjects. Narrative paintings are illustrative and communicative yet the finalized product is intended to be seen hanging on a wall, rather than in print. This is the basic differentiation of Illustration / Communication Arts and Studio / Fine Arts… but I digress.

So what it comes down to is this: What is my story? What am I trying to say as an artist?

I could just create a “slice of life” moment a la Rockwell. Say, a family at dinner or children at play, but I wanted to do something more meaningful. Something personal. Something with teeth.

Some of my biggest art heroes spoke out through their work. Manet used wit to expose and shock the French aristocracy with Olympia. Louise Bourgeois created monstrous sculptures that were representations of struggles in her childhood. Cindy Sherman photographed herself as all the iconic idealized women in art and film to question their place in our culture.

24 hours to have an idea of what I am to paint and what I am trying to say as an artist. I ask, can anyone work like this? In a frenzy of sketches and collages used from my image hoarding… er… collecting I came up with different scenarios for my composition. I worried that this wasn’t really enough to go on, but I had deadlines and my artistic crisis is not an excuse for tardiness.

Franticly I arrive in class with a sketchbook with chicken scratch layouts with pages and scraps of images from my collection and 5 foot stretcher bars under my arms. I made it just in time for the meeting with my professor. After a long discussion with her and sharing my ideas, sketches, and images I have finally come up with a concept. It is something very personal yet vague enough to allow the viewer to create their own story.

In the end, I met the deadline, but it made me wonder… do other artists go through these same struggles? Do we all grapple with finding a way to be true to our artistic selves while still meeting the demands of the professional side of art?

Who's Gonna Supply My Fix?

[by Theresa Knopf Morgan]
Mother. Lover. Artist

This past Sunday, when all of the Santa Clarita Valley was engrossed in almighty football, I sat outside priming and prepping a canvas to paint on. Amid the faint cheers and buzzing television sets, I glanced around my neighborhood and basked in the February sunlight.

Preparing canvases and panels is often an overlooked aspect of art, but it is the absolute foundation to a good painting. And as much as I bitch and moan about how long the art process can take, I'm addicted to it.

I love the dust left on my hands when I come in touch with charcoal and pastels. I love the smell of linseed oil. I own an expansive collection of palette knives and an enormous roll of thick cotton canvas duck. everyone has his or her vice. Mine happens to be art.

On this mild Sunday, as I sanded down the second layer of gesso primer, I started thinking of how everything I needed to feed my art addiction had to be purchased outside of this valley. Canvas and stretcher bars from Los Angeles and gesso and hardware from the "other" valley. How odd is it that the Santa Clarita Valley is hoe to one of the most prestigious art universities in the world, yet there is no full service art supply store within its boundaries?

There used to be a little mom-and-pop art supply store on Lyons Avenue in the mid 90's. I remember going in and marveling at the display of Conté Crayons in a rainbow of colors, each sold individually. My best friend loved all things purple and insisted we buy her purple crayons from this local gem. We spent many afternoons prowling this tiny shop, ogling all its art wares.

Sadly, the small business closed up mere months after Michael's Arts & Crafts opened on the Old road. I'm not here to say the huge chain-store is evil or anything. In fact, its weekly 40 percent off coupon pretty much kicks ass for big items. What I am saying is the big business stores don't always carry some necessary art supplies to feed my artistic appetite.

I want stretcher bars in a variety of sizes and thickness. I want alternative surfaces. I want aisles with illustration, printmaking and sculpting supplies. I want quality canvas and linen sold by the yard. I want more than two brand choices of paints and mediums. I want drawers full of hand-crafted papers to choose from. I want to get that rush only a well-stocked art supply store can give me. And most importantly, I want a staff that knows and uses its products.

I definitely don't want to have to drive 30 to 60 minutes to feed my addiction.

I have compiled a list of reasons art suppliers should consider opening up shop somewhere in our art-supply-deprived community. So art suppliers, if you're out there, listen to me.

• CalArts (California Institute of the Arts)
• Artists like me
• College of the Canyons Art Gallery
• Proxart
• More artists like me
• 661 Arts - the City of Santa Clarita's Art Alliance
• Old Town Newhall Art Walk
• Even more artists like me. there are a lot of us

This is a community with a budding art scene. There are a lot of dedicated people pushing for it to grow. With multiple art organizations and monthly events, we need a proper art-supply store, damnit.

Theresa Knopf Morgan has lived in the SCV since she was a little girl. She is an artist and career woman. She has well-behaved children and a rock 'n' roll husband. She enjoys the quiet simplicity of the suburbs and the loud gritty nightlife of the city. She loves and lives contradiction. Visit her blog at theresaknopfmorgan.blogspot.com.


This was originally printed in the second issue of altSCV, February 13, 2011.