Mother Moth: Preliminary Drawing

More or less, I have finished the preliminary drawing for the mother moth painting.  At this point, I want the emphasis on the eggs she's laying.  We'll see where it leads.

While doing this moth series, I've been acutely aware of how closely related are art and religion.  In both, so long as the participant adheres to the belief of status quo, all goes well, but the moment an idea or concept gets questioned, eyebrows begin to raise and hostility shows its ugly head.

I am reminded of being an art student at the University of Georgia back in the 60's when traditional or classical approaches to art were scorned as dead (just like God was during the same era).  Students who wanted to find their voices in a more traditional approach were dressed down by their instructors as well as their peers.  So in order to maintain a grade average, the student was forced to adhere to the dogma of the day.  It bothered me then and it bothers me now.

Too many of today's artists are stuck in that anti-traditional attitude, blocked from perceiving beyond it.  Andrew Wyeth has been accused of overworking his pieces just because he chose to define his images while Willem de Kooning was praised for his distortions and vague images.  In religion at that time, students believing God was alive and well were sneered at and considered less than intelligent.  Today some of those same kind of attitudes persist, even if in reverse.  As Howard use to say, it's the pattern that matters.

Actually, the attitudes of neither religious zealots nor artistic dogma matter to me.  What matters is that I'm following my inner light, that I not allow that candle to go out, in spite of any prevailing attitudes.

Enjoy this Monday.
Dianne