Artists Interview Artists: Michael Grayeagle

Michael Grayeagle, a Harrisburg, PA based artist, participates in the Artists Interview Artists Project. Below Michael responds to another artist's five questions (Chris Ashley from Oakland, CA). In order to participate, Michael had to provide me with five questions for some other artist to answer. The assigning of questions to artists is completely random. If you're an artist and interested in participating, let me know.

The Barnyard Sunset
Arches 300gsm using Daniel Smith paints
18" x 24"
12/2005

1. Let's say I'm someone who knows next to nothing about art, but I am genuinely interested in hearing you talk about your art. Leaving all jargon and assumptions behind, how would you describe as clearly and plainly as possible what your art looks like, why and how you make it, your intentions, and what you believe your art means?

I believe that being Native American brings a spiritual aspect to art. Other ethnic groups may believe this too, but I can only speak for myself and my own people.

When I paint, I am pouring out from my inner being what my spirit sees and wants to show you. How successful I am at that remains to be seen --- but I want to show you what my spirit sees. I once did a painting called “Coming Home” and to someit is nothing more than a bird trying to land in the hollow of a tree where its nest is. What I saw and wanted to portray was the determination that that bird had in coming --- not to some hole in a tree --- but to its home --- family --- its purpose for being at that time.

My art is my story to you about something.

2. How would you describe the art scene where you live? What is your relationship to that scene, what kind of relationship would you like to have, and how do you think you can you achieve that?

I happen to live in a very active art community where one can become a little overwhelmed with so much art you wonder if there really is any room for me. I am a member of the PA Watercolor Society for several reasons: 1. I believe I need to suppose the arts, and in particular my segment of the arts. 2. When one is part of a group he/she gets to become an insider and is afforded information others do not immediately know. Now, I don’t mean that in a snobbery kind of way --- but it does give one and edge on the person who does not want to belong to any group. 3. I also like to have my work critiqued by my peers. I believe that is something that those of us who have been at this for awhile often neglect and suffer because of it. I find it a tremendous help to hear what other artist have to say about a piece that I have done, because I think everyone of us would have done one or two things differently if they would have created the painting. The trick here is, of course, to take the critiques without being offended. In fact when I find someone who repeatedly seems to be nasty about the entire thing, I either totally ignore everything he/she say or I try not to allow them to do a critique.

Everyone loves to give advise and this is a great way to find acceptance.

3. What role do you think current technologies, for example email and the web, and tools like weblogs, Flickr, Del.icio.us, and My Space, for example, and the near ubiquity of digital imaging, are having and can have in the making, distribution, critical dialogue, marketing, and social networking of art? What are you using, and what would you like to see happen?

This is the future! I am not sure that brick and mortar galleries will ever go away because there is a certain --- class (I dislike using that word) that finds this the only way to buy, but even galleries are going on-line. I have a web site and 99% of my sales are from that site. How important is my site? I gets hits from literally around the world everyday. People from many countries view my artwork that would never in a hundred years see any of it.

Spam is a real problem and needs to be --- and I believe will be controlled. Blogs are helpful because the greatest enemy of an artist is anonymity. You’ve got to get your name and work out there before people. Blogs can help do that. However, this can backfire on you if your art is not very good or if the information you’re giving out is obviously flawed. You can only fake it for so long.

I flinch at the digital art programs that I have seen out there. They are so sophisticated many of them can take anyone’s hard work, copy it and sell it as one's own. On the other hand, I must confess I use some programs to set up my projects. Almost all of my paintings are done from photographs and I generally run those photos through a program to sharpen the image, to get gray scale prints, color prints, and I can crop, change view and re-crop again and again until I get the story I am looking to portray. I guess, like everything it is simply a program and good people will use it wisely and bad people will misuse it. That’s the world!

The social networking that the net allows for all people is fantastic! I have met and made so many friends through the net that I have never personally seen nor probably ever will. We have swapped photographs from around the world so that we both can paint pictures of places neither of us can afford to get to.

4. What is something about your art that you think is important that viewers generally overlook or misunderstand?

This one is easy. We are a flash – flash world --- everything instant, a quick look here, a snap decision there, a quick okay or a fast Ugh. Art, in my opinion, is meant to be stared at. It is meant to evoke an emotion and thought. That takes time. That takes looking carefully at the picture and thinking --- which we just don’t do anymore. I find it amazing to go to a museum and watch people look at a painting for about 20 seconds and move on to the next and then the next.

I have stats on my web page that show me that more than 80% of the pictures viewed are viewed for 30 seconds or less. What they “overlook or misunderstand” is there is an entire story being told if they just took the time to ask the right questions.

5. What are you doing to get your art out in public? Do you have a plan or are you just winging it? Have any hot or unusal tips? What is working for you, and what is something that definitely doesn't work?

Let me answer the second question first --- if you don’t have a plan your father better own Micro-Soft because you’re going to go nowhere! Yes, I have a short range plan, which I call goals, and I have a long range plan/goals --- but I never go any farther than four years. There are too many changes in four years time. I keep that plan/goals in plain view so that I see them frequently and often have to change one or two for whatever reason.

Now to your first question: I have a public view web page that I work very hard at. I have learned that you cannot put out a web page and then expect the world to come to it. I have put effort into studying things like SEOs, Page Ranking, Links,Robots, Meta Tags, DMOZ, (if none of these sound familiar and you are trying to sell by a web site --- you’re in trouble) and networking your net work.

Hot and unusual tips: if you are interested in selling your work then notice I used the word work. It is a job --- a very hard job being a professional artist. Work hard at your painting but work hard at your business and remember it is a business.

What is working for me? Being open and being myself. Working hard and continuing to learn my craft and my business.

The final question: Don’t fall into that artistic jerk attitude. I have come across so many singing the blues about not selling and when you go to their web site and look at their BIO or Statement they have comments like “My work speaks for itself” or “Buy it if you like it otherwise don’t”. When you do a show, be friendly, open and available to answer questions. In other words be a normal person who happens to be an artist. And always --- be gracious!

The Mighty Matterhorn
Arches 300gsm using Daniel Smith paints
18" x 24"
4/2006

Previous Interviews:
Juno Doran (questions by James W. Bailey)
Josh Feldman (questions by Joseph Barbaccia)
Lisa Stephenson (questions by Whitney Lynn)
Joseph Barbaccia (questions by Josh Feldman)
James W. Bailey (questions by Matt Hollis)
Matt Hollis (questions by Juno Doran)
Carol Es (questions by James Leonard)
Alexandra Silverthorne (questions by Ami Lahoff)
Christine Buckton Tillman (questions by Carol Es)
Douglas Witmer (questions by Alexandra Silverthorne)
Sky Pape (questions by Douglas Witmer)
Whitney Lynn (questions by Lisa Stephenson)
Heather Levy (questions by Joanne Greenbaum)
Heather Lowe (questions by Samantha Wolov)
Samantha Wolov (questions by Heather Levy)
Timothy McClellan (questions by Heather Lowe)
James Leonard (questions by Sky Pape)
Joanne Greenbaum (questions by Timothy McClellan)
Richard Kooyman (questions by Robert Walton)
Candy Keegan (questions by Warren Craghead)
Robert Walton (questions by Candy Keegan)
John M. Adams (questions by Richard Kooyman)
Prescott Moore Lassman (questions by Mary Addison Hackett)
Mary Addison Hackett (questions by Prescott Moore Lassman)
Andrew Wodzianski (questions by Nathan Manuel & D.Billy)
Nathan Manuel & D.Billy (questions by Andrew Wodzianski)
Michael Janis (questions by Scott Listfield)
Scott Listfield (questions by Michael Janis)
F. Lennox Campello (questions by Sean Hennessy)
Matt Andrade (questions by Adrian Parsons)
Sean Hennessy (questions by F. Lennox Campello)
George Wayne (questions by Michelle McAuliffe)
Eridanus Sellen (questions by Anabela Jevtovic)
Anabela Jevtovic (questions by Eridanus Sellen)
Marianela de la Hoz (questions by A.B. Miner)
Martin Henry (questions by Barbara Johnson-Gresser)
A.B. Miner (questions by George Wayne)
Barbara Johnson-Gresser (questions by Martin Henry)
Adrian Parsons (questions by Matt Andrade)
Heather Schmaedeke (questions by Patricia Hartnett)
Anthony Easton (questions by Melissa Kennedy)
Roz Leibowitz (questions by Anthony Easton)
Melissa Kennedy (questions by Tracy Lee)
Michelle McAuliffe (questions by Marianela de la Hoz)
Tim Folzenlogen (questions by Jason Hanasik)
Rob Willms (questions by Dott Schneider)
Marsha Stein (questions by Gregg Chadwick)
Jason Hanasik (questions by Tim Folzenlogen)
John LeKay (questions by Rosa Naparstek)
Brock Neilson (questions by Richard Vosseller)
Rosa Naparstek (questions by Howard Salmon)
Patricia Hartnett (questions by Verta Reyes)
William Andrews (questions by Bean Gilsdorf)
Howard Salmon (questions by John LeKay)
Corey Amaro (questions by Jason Dean and Matt Nash)