jeremiahkauffman

Art is for me a serious hobby but also something
I would like to pursue professionally.I was born
August 1979 making me currently 24 years old.
I have had no formal art studies( unless you count
high school), however, I have been concentrating on
making art for around seven years now. I have tried to
develop both an expressive" artistic" style and a more
realistic, designer style. Recently, in fact, I have for the
first time taken a serious interest in the practice of live
studies in order to enhance my ability to portray realistic
ideas and logic.
Many people automatically think of painting when they think
of art. I don't know why this is, but what I do know is that I
have always felt the opposite. I rarely think in color- mostly
lines and shapes. At its most primitive, my art comes out as
basic designs with no coherent realistic basis. Because a lot
of people who want to be artists or enjoy being creative feel
the ultimate art is the painting, they devote a good amount
of time to practicing painting. I, on the other hand, rarely
touch painting which is why my portfolio stands so weakly
in that area.
I want to develop in the area of painting, in particular,
I want to be very expressive with painting. As of yet,
most of my attempts have come out too controlled,
trying to live up to the standard I have already set for
myself in drawing. I do practice painting now and I
do intend on breaking through with it, but it will never
be as natural to me as drawing has been.
I could go about naming influences, but the truth is
that I pay close attention to everything I look at. There
are the famous names that people (should hopefully)
recognize who I admire, but there is such an enormous
and diverse body of creative people in the present living
world and in the past dead worlds that it won't do justice
to my influential makeup to attach my being to just a
few people, any kind of art - good or bad - is an influence.
In the good, one sees how things are done the right way
and also how success can be forged by either following
what is accepted already or what one forces others to
accept. In the bad, one sees not only the mistakes that
one should avoid, but also sees life. The failed or hopeless
ly amateur artist is the reality of human life; it speaks more
truth than the life of the successful artist in a way that is
too obvious to need putting down in words. Needless to say,
it is this archetype of failure which I feel creeping behind me
like the grave. It is the raw need of my flesh that requires
me to eat and make money.
My goal as an artist is some sort of interaction and hopefully
at least a minor legacy. Each piece is to me like a beautiful
jewel, and I collect - more like horde - them greedily. Unless
my images are perfect in my own eyes, they are not worthy
of being put in the special place alongside the rest. Unlike
artists who just create and create, accepting the bad with the
good, I can’t stand it when something comes out mediocre or
bland. If its a drawing, I either put it in a hidden stack
devoted to its own kind or tape it to the wall as a reminder.
If its a painting, I usually have no choice but to place it in
the closet away from my sight. This happens to be one of
the biggest obstacles in developing a painterly sense.
Whereas with a drawing, it is extremely perceptible when
the point of ruination has been passed and one can accept
the failure and move on, a painting is never finished - one
can always keep painting over. I look at the painting I do
not like the beginning of and I must force myself to under-
stand that I should keep trying to make it better. I believe
in the end however, even the paintings will look pleasing
every step of the process once I have matured in that area.
But as I say, my goal is interaction and i have only
described the precious ones meant for myself. I like clean,
perfect images because this world is overflowing with
them, and I must compete. As an artist in the sense of
someone who intends on selling their works as they are
concerned, I am not interested. I like usefulness in art:
story illustrations, covers, web graphics, labels, logos,
comics, and so on. Art is not useful unless it is made
with that intention. I am taking the difficult approach
only because I enjoy the luxury. Most people interested
in creating useful art go to school; they pick up know-
ledge of how useful art is made and works; they learn
skills and styles that appeal on a commercial level.
Since I have no need to make money from my art, I
am free to choose how I will accomplish useful art.
My heart lives in the art nouveau when the commercial
artist lived in a time of classical sentiment and ornament-
tation was important.
I do not want to go backwards, but i do not care for what
is considered “hip.” It fades quickly. What the world will
never cease to need is ideas which may not persist for-
ever but at least last long enough for the continuation of
life. Those who appeal to what is stylish and sells today
will enjoy a certain kind of success which does not inter-
est me. I admire Kafka, Tolkein, and Escher: all consumed
in their work and concerned with nothing but the act of
creating. Success may revolve inconceivably around
something insignificant, but the human and his evolution
does not compare. The true artist creates an overwhelm-
ing and intimidating body of work in his life. It is a fullness
that I believe to be the true thing and true measure of re-
spect. It is my wish that someday I will be able to pro-
fess this sentiment from the position of proof through ac-
tion rather than words, but even if that place is not meant
for me, I cannot deny how I feel.
_______________________________________________

Jeremiah Kauffman was an Atlanta based Illustrator, fine
artist and writer.
Born in 1979, he produced the majority of his
work from 1997 to 2008.
Specializing in ink illustration, he created hundreds of
drawings with his rapidogragh pens during this time, as
well as hundreds of photographs, digital designs, pencil
sketches, acrylic paintings, poetry, prose and
published articles.
He passed away in April, 2008