artist of the day---delacroix

Eugene was a great artist and one of my all time favorites. He was a fiery passionate artist---I like an artist with some fire in their guts. Most artists are very calculating and sober and boring and follow some misguided path or method they picked up along the way like a bug that wont leave them. The point of being an artist is not to be a follower of anyone or anything-- Strike your own path for better or for worse and try to keep a smile on your face during the battle. Delacroix was rival to all the stiff and lifeless Neoclassical painters of the day. He was interested in action and color and movement and life. He looked to Rubens for inspiration which is one of my other favorite artists. The difference between delacroix and his rivals --ingres etc is the difference between willie nelson and garth brooks. I can forgive some technical errors if there is enough fire in a person or a work...I cannot forgive a render of lifeless fruits that are dead before they are even painted.