It's blog-tastic.

I’ll start my guest blogging with a short introduction, a few thoughts, and a modest request.

My name is Jacob Breeden…and I’m an Amarillo artist. That’s my introduction.

And believe it or not, Amarillo is an art town.

This town is filled with artists.

Artists who work. Artists who try – then fail – then try again. Artists who are in dedicated pursuit of an idea. An idea they may have been chasing for a few months, a few years, or a few decades.

There are realists and abstract thinkers. There are painters and poets, builders and bohemians, picture makers and picture takers. Men and women. Old and young. We are all different, and yet all the same...our sameness derived from our collective belief in the power of action.

You see…art making is action. Art making is work. As Tom T. once said, “Real work comes from work.” This is something we all know. Art, for each of us, is not a “hobby”. It’s not a “past time”. It’s an obsession. It’s work.

So why do we do it? Ask a hundred artists and get a hundred different answers.

I create because I can’t say what I want to say with words. I create because it keeps me sane. I create because I have a damn good time doing it. I create because I have to. But that’s just me.

Is what I create art? I sure as hell hope so.

With time, dedication and patience, anyone (really – anyone) can learn the skills it takes to paint a landscape filled with happy little trees, model with clay, or take a picture. Do you really think artists are born with the skills it takes to create their creations? We have all spent years learning to speak our chosen “language”.

But is hand-eye coordination really all it takes to make art? Or is there something that separates the art from the other?

Take the time to look at the art being made in our town. Take the time to really look. Then think about this…what you see is not always all there is.

When something moves you…when it makes you stop and think – when you can’t take your eyes off the image, or get the song out of your head, or stop repeating the poem – think about why. Chances are the artist did.

Those are my thoughts for the day.

And finally, here is my request. I am asking you to seek out and support great local art, to stop buying couch sized paintings for $29.00, and that the words, "You should go to Santa Fe!" never again escape your lips.

j. breeden