By Troy Headrick
Last weekend, I was able to spend some time with my father. My wife and I drove up to Georgetown, Texas, the town where he and my stepmother live. We arrived on Saturday evening and stayed with them until Monday afternoon.
I have written about my dad elsewhere in this blog. He is my inspiration in more ways than one. He’s aging very gracefully and philosophically despite his health challenges. Plus, I’ve long seen him as a creative genius. He did not finish his university studies but majored in the fine arts, in painting to be more precise. He is also an accomplished sculptor and songwriter. In fact, he has done musical collaborations with a handful of famous lyricists who live in Nashville. On top of all that, dad has been a successful house flipper and made good money buying and developing tracts of land. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to call him a “dreamy visionary.”
We always spend time in his art studio/man cave, and this visit was no exception. While sitting among his many abstract wood carvings, I asked him about art and what got him started. Did he have in training? He told me that he didn’t, not before attending university. He explained that drawing and painting was always something that came easy for him. I pushed him a little bit to elaborate. He thought for a minute and told me that he didn’t pursue it as much as he probably should have because it was a skill that was always there and thus he took if for granted.
That sounded so familiar. I guess I was born with artistic talent. When I was a child, my teachers, starting in about the first grade, recognized this and sent notes home to my parents, exhorting them to have me take private art lessons. As a result, I did a year of private study with Zakaria Ali, a gifted painting student at the local university. Zak, originally hailing from Malaysia, ended up becoming a famous artist in his home country and a renowned poet.
I’m writing all this because I want to share a link with the art website I’m putting together. There was a time in the past when I showed and sold art. In fact, one of the pieces I did during a very active period can be found as the header image for this blog.
My goal is to pursue art again and to be serious about it. I literally have thousands of pieces, the vast majority of which haven’t been photographed or scanned. So, if you like what you see here, come back often as I expect this gallery to grow over time. Plus, in the near future, I’m going put prices on all these pieces.
I’m attracted more and more to abstract art as I get older. Actually, I was always into doing “funny” or “weird” art. When I was a child, many of my family members wanted me to make “pretty” pictures. I think they had very traditional paintings of flowers and landscapes in mind. I was never attracted by the idea of drawing and painting such things. I think I probably scared my family because I drew strange faces and such when I was a mere wee thing.
I strongly believe that art must be fun. (Many artists take themselves and their work deadly seriously.) It should be fun for the maker and fun for the viewer. I love colors. I love line, shape, color, and composition. I love working fast and losing control (a little bit). I love being very self-expressive and try to work fast so that my mind doesn’t interfere too much. I don’t necessarily want people to “understand” my work; I’d rather they have an immediate emotional reaction to it.
Thanks for reading and looking.
Troy Headrick’s personal blog can be found here.
Saatchi Art sounded familiar so I went over to Instagram, thinking I was following you already. I was not but I have seen your IG and I’m following you now. I’m RobinLateArtLearner. See you there!
Hi. I think I opened an Instagram account but never use it. Actually, Saatchi is a different webpage entirely. I looked for “RobinLateArtLearner” on Saatchi but didn’t find you. Maybe I’ll go back to Instagram to check out your work. Do you have your own website? Thanks for the comment.
Hmm. I’m following the IG that has the same red/yellow/blue circles as on the link you included. It’s called Saatchiart. I don’t have a website. I’m a newbie. Maybe I’ll have one soon!
OK. So it sounds like we’re both looking at the Saatchiart site. So I find you by using the user name you mentioned in your first post? Or do I use your real name? I’ll look for you. What sort of art do you like and how would you describe your art?
I liked something on your site so it should come up in your notifications. It’s impossible to describe my art right now because I’m a complete newbie (been painting since April; have been learning to draw since the pandemic started). Right now I try anything that moves me. I like to paint: trying my hand at abstracts; I also have done a few portraits and painting over photos, sort of unrealistic colors. I also have done some fiber art (well, that started way before the painting), some mixed media art with jewelry. And that’s pretty much how I’d describe my art likes also: very eclectic. I’ve been posting my beginnings of my art journey here on this blog, in the order they are created, as sort of a visual chronicle of my (hopefully) improvement. I paint A LOT but the pieces only drip out on the blog about twice a week.
Hi. Like you, I’m pretty eclectic. I draw, make collages, and do some assemblage pieces. I even do things that some would consider more “crafty.” (For example, I make really rough decorative bowls out of paper clay and carboard.) I’ll look around and find your work and let you know what I think.
I sent you a DM on Instagram.
Congratulations on pursuing something you’re passionate about!! This post is very inspiring!
Thank you for the encouragement and the comment!
Sounds like you have passion for it. Good luck!
Thank you!
Creating art is simply something extra rewarding. It can fill all voids one has and it can also make that person feel accomplished and achieving something every time they take brush or pencil in their hand.
While I’ve been for quite many years (close to 2 decades) in Canada, I’m originally from Latvia, a tiny country at the Baltic see. We kind of never tried to have so much fun with everything, but it was rather interesting and always new. I still don’t do art because of fun, but I’ve never been very serious either. It’s been my lifestyle for more than half a century and I draw and paint because I can not do it. It’s totally who I am whether doing gardening, sewing new outfit, giving a class, art is always present.
Just like your father, I never studied art or took any classes, but it’s been more than 50 years since I’m doing it.
It’s a good decision you’ve made because selling art is something very secondary. Creating art is what makes life worth living.
You’re absolutely right. I am really attracted by the creative process. Of course, when I get a piece I like, I enjoy looking at it again, but the real fun is the doing. Where can I find your work? I’d like to take a look. Thanks for sharing your story!
It’s so good to know that you will be pursuing an old passion of yours. It takes a lot of deliberation and self-confidence to do so. Sometimes, certain skills are innate and it’s good to give them wings. Only if we explore possibilities, will we see the expanse of their outcomes. I wish you all the best in this endeavor. I hope it brings peace, joy and success to you. 🙂
Thank you. I sometimes regret that I stopped doing art for long periods of time. But then I realize that some powerful force was pulling me toward something else. I’ve long been too interested in too many things. I guess that’s a good thing and a bad thing. It means that I have lots of interests, but I sometimes wish I could consistently focus more. Thanks for the comment.
I suppose you could just click on link, it’s visible on comments here. I’m on WordPress, too, have been for about 11 years.
I clicked on it and it brought up my website.
I completely agree that the process is worth going for. Even when you spend on art just a small bit of time here and there, it still progresses. For many reasons, I cannot also spend a lot of time in a day just doing art. That’s why I don’t tape the painting process usually, it would be stretched out over a long time.
I hope you stick to your intention and good luck with it!
Thank you. You are right. When you post a comment, I get an email notification and then links to your WordPress site. I will click on those links and have a look. My problem is that I love both writing and making art. Because I’m so busy, I have a hard time focusing on each one and I don’t want to give either one up. I’ve long had the problem of being someone with many interests. That is both wonderful and frustrating. I have an artist friend who does art every single day. She believes that doing only 30 minutes a day helps keep the mind engaged in the making of art. A person doesn’t need to spend hours and hours each day doing it; although, it might be nice to do so. I have found that if I try to spend a lot of hours doing art, the artwork can feel forced and not turn out the way I’d like. That’s why I try to work quickly and spontaneously. I have enjoyed talking with you about this subject and will check out your work. By the way, do you live in Latvia? One of my good friends from the past married a woman from Latvia and lives there now.
Troy! I love it. I think you and I have a very similar approach to art. I scrolled through your site and I love your work! I especially love the faces.
You’ve inspired me to get back into my own artistic endeavors! Time seems scarce, but we have to make time for what we love, right?
🕊
Hi. Thanks. I’ve seen some of your work too and we do have similar approaches. I say make art! Find time or make time or steal time! I feel less healthy when I stay away from creating things. I have to pay attention to those feelings. They are telling me something very important. I’m glad I inspired you. Why not put some work on Saatchi?
It’s on the list! 🤓
The owls within your art collection are the pieces that immediately spoke to me. Their eyes are piercing, in a way that asks me to examine my own soul and think what wisdom is stored within it at this point in time.
Thank you for sharing your artwork, and the story of time spent with your father. I don’t spend much time with my parents, in person or in conversation on the phone or via video chat, which is something I think needs to change. I do very much get my love for writing from my father, and have enjoyed each of the stories we have written together.
Hi, Hamish. I had a very interesting experience with an owl many years ago. That interesting encounter made me think that the owl just might be my spirit animal. Do you have a spirit animal? Do you believe in such things? Why not call your parents or write them? Like you, I went through periods when I didn’t speak enough to my folks. We can fall into these patterns of being. Then again, if it doesn’t feel right to talk to them, maybe you need to listen to those feelings. It’s good to talk with you again. Thanks for reading and commenting.
I feel strongly drawn towards tigers. As well as really liking them for their orange and black colouring, I think they are strong and independent, when they need to be. Two things I try to be more of (though I do know asking for help when needed is important.)
I have organised to talk with my dad today and sent my mother a longer than usual message. A start to strengthening those connections again. 😊