Don’t quite get it since I’ve posted a couple of comments in the past on your blog. I do think as artists we owe it to ourselves to be honest without being cruel about it, unless the work is so shallow that it’s just asking for it. I will say I like Mr. Birmelin’s drawings. There is something more direct about them and therefore they have a charm lacking in the paintings. The comment on Prince Street was merely meant as a heads-up for any struggling artists who might think New York means an automatic sale. By the way, I’ve read comments by famous artists that completely eviscerate other artists, including highly regarded ones. And by famous, I mean Picasso, Gauguin, Freud, etc. Maybe I jumped the gun. I’ll hang onto the blog. I do find it interesting to read what artists have to say about their work, but not for the reason you might think. The poet, Apollinaire once said, “One should apologize first before talking about painting.”

I set up the comment system here to to prevent spam by me first approving the comment for the first comment made from an email account. When I’m away from my computer, first time posters have to wait. Once I’ve approved the comment from that email address – their future comments go through without my moderation. I very rarely censor anyone for what they say, no matter how much I might disagree with them. Unless your post is particularly abusive, mean-spirited or spammy I will likely publish it. Your tone made this one a tough choice but I decided to publish it anyway. I’m sure that isn’t the first time Robert Birmelin heard that take on his painting. The Prince Street gallery is correct to say that paintings don’t often get sold in the juried show – I would venture to guess that a depressingly small percentage of paintings get sold in most venues. We painters need tough skins and a strong love for painting and find ways to do it no matter what the difficulty.