Uncle Roger, private collection

When beauty appears, inspiratioin is spontaneous, easy and instant. The harder part of inspiration is motivation: what keeps me going, prevents me from quitting, answers my many questions, and pulls me through the dry spells? Most often it is people; they inspire me through encouragement, helpful criticism, and written materials. (And, I firmly believe that one must be an optimist to be self-employed!)

Art Calendar is the best magazine for professional artists that I have ever seen. Its focus is the business end of art. It is full of information by and about artists who are earning their livings solely by their art. Through it I have “met” several people who have changed the course of my career, from a pencilhead to an oil painter.

When each issue arrives, I immediately look for the article by Jack White, artist and author of books on marketing art. His wife is quite a successful artist also, probably because she is good (duh) and because Jack promotes her! Jack isn’t a highly educated man or a smooth writer but he is a great communicator. He writes sort of like President Bush talks – Texas is the common denominator there.

www.jackwhiteartist.com and www.senkarik.com are where you can find Jack White and his wife Mikki’s artwork.