Watch me pace the room and interrogate the great about his paintings.
Special thanks to him for sending me his lovely book and agreeing to speak with me.
My review of SLART’s book, ART, LIFE, & CREATIVITY—
I’ll be honest, I don’t know SLART. We “met” online, which I’ve found to mean nothing with most people. I was struck by his intentionally cherubic, cartoonish style. He paints with emotion over precision, much like I do with words. One of my favorite writers, Charles Bukowski, once said: “Don’t try.” He didn’t mean: don’t put effort into your work. He meant: don’t push. Let it flow. Be yourself above all else. And when you are, the work will feel good, and people will understand its authenticity.
The modern artist plays many roles: social media manager, promoter, editor, photographer, videographer, audio engineer, sycophant. He needs to follow, like, subscribe, and hopefully rise. Is it merit-based? Does it matter if the work is good? Is there such a thing as good and bad art? These are questions I often ponder, and so far my answers are:
There is good and bad art.
AND
There are more dilettantes today than ever before.
Why? Because there are more people on Earth than ever before.
With that sad truth said, there are also more real artists than ever before. Those who dedicate their entire lives to their craft.
Social media is like a shit stain on the Mona Lisa. It’s said to be a necessary evil that the modern artist must master if he/she/they/fuckface wants to find any semblance of success. Though saturated with opulent trash, some artists cut through the noise and exemplify raw greatness.
SLART is one of those artists.
“SLART AKA Steve Light is a figurative artist, painter, and kidney warrior. He loved drawing for hours as a child but got put off by an A-level art teacher who said, “You can’t draw large scale.” -From the back cover of ART, LIFE & CREATIVITY
I had a similar experience. As a teenager, I was fascinated by fiction and poetry, yet intimidated by the greats, as their mastery of language, grammar, and emotion seemed unobtainable. People would read my work and say, “Yeah, it’s great, man.” When I’d ask what they liked about it, they’d reply, “It’s just great, man. I really like it.”
And that’s it.
That is not the response that great art evokes. Great art makes you think. Makes you feel. As you flip through SLART’s book, each page will bring about a different emotion. He created the book to inspire the blocked artist, painting portraits of famous writers, painters, singers, directors, and visionaries in his own unfettered style. It’s pure truth, through and through.
My favorite piece in the book is a painting of Steve and Picasso staring each other down. To me, it says, “What? You think you’re the only one who can paint, don’t you? Well fuck you, I can too.”
Damn right you can.
-C. James Desmond
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