When you look at an object it either interests you and holds your attention or it doesn't. To me, the measure of a true work of art is it's power to make you stop what you are doing and simply observe it. What you see and how you feel when you look at a fine art object is the mark of it's power. The artist who made the object most likely showered a tremendous amount of his or her attention and energy on the object. The same artist most likely put all of his or her energy and passion over their lifetime into acquiring the skills to produce the object. So the object is an extension of who they are and it is imbued with their inspiration and energy. Sometimes that will give an object an extraordinary amount of power. When I work in oils or other fine art media I am aware of the power an object could have and I am aware of my commitment to how the presence of the object I am creating will affect people.

When I stand in the presence of a masterpiece, I am quite often shocked by the sheer power of it's presence. You simply are spellbound by it. I went to see a Chuck Close Exhibit here in Portland, Oregon a few years ago and they only had one original portrait of his circles on a grid style but it was stunning, I was absolutely blown away. The intensity of the color and the sheer blast of artistic power from that piece helped me realize why so few artists are celebrated in any given century. Picasso's head of a woman, a strange sculpture from his earliest period, was one of the creepiest, yet most mesmerising objects I have ever seen, even to this very day. Head of a Woman is a very disturbing and haunting piece for me because it is a very intense and powerful object, as are many of his other works. That is why the objects he made cost so much. You could buy enough energy to power your home and vehicles for a lifetime with what these objects are valued at. That perceived value is because of the object's power, or because the artist had done such powerful work previously, that even his lesser or simpler work gains power from his or her name alone. The power of a masterpiece sends shockwaves through the world that dazzle the mind.

When I look at how many artists go about marketing their work, what I see is that many of them are actually marketing their personal history, their academic or professional credentials more than their work, as if who they are matters more than the power of the ojects they create. I don't have any credentials nor do I think that they matter as much as the finished object's presence in the room. I probably feel that way because I don't have any academic or professional achievements to speak of. The perception that the One Man Show and a distinguished gallery display validates an artist and his/ her work is bizarre to me. A personal historic record of notable display being the measure of the man in my perception is just silly nonsense. For me, if you are not stopped by an object, if it doesn't hold your attention, if you don't like it, no amount of ego-driven, self-elevation on my part is going to imbue that object with any more power than it actually has. So why waste energy on telling you how wonderful the artist is, when all that really matters is whether or not this object has enough power to stop you in your tracks and make you feel something.

I have given dozens of paintings away to friends and relatives who say they are proud to own them. They could be totally full of shit but it's hard to tell sometimes. When you go to visit and they have it in a closet somewhere, or they never mention it, I can pretty much bet, I am creating powerless objects. But when everybody stares at it and asks how much it would cost, whistles when you tell them $17,500 and they keep looking at it, as an artist, you are starting to create objects which have power, objects which stand out based on the intensity of their own presence. To me, that's the only thing that matters, because I am going to be dead all-too-soon and that is going to be the only thing that's left of me.