Dancing Ladies

20x24. acrylic on canvas

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There was an interesting discussion recently on the web about what constitutes an original work of art. Some people felt that it was any work of art done by the hand of an artist, and that the job of the artist was only to observe and interpret.

But there was also strong opinion that if 10 art students are in a room drawing the same figure, none of the work is original because the idea of drawing the figure is not original, and that an original work of art is only something that shows us something new, in a unique and different way.

Since I'm a landscape artist, when I think of artists who showed us a new way of interpreting the landscape, I think of artists like Monet, Van Gogh, and more recently, Wolf Kahn. These artists have painted differently from artists in the past and opened our eyes to seeing the landscape in a new way.

Their work is instantly recognizable as a Monet, a Van Gogh, or a Kahn. They've shown us a new way of looking. Now that's something to strive for!

Occasionally someone will tell me that because of seeing my paintings they see the Everglades in a whole new way. While I know that I'm only a small way along the path of "artist", it's the highest compliment I can receive.