Burn It Down, Build It Better Pablo Picasso wasn’t wrong when he said, “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” Anyone who’s ever made something worth a damn knows this. Creation isn’t just about adding—it’s about tearing things apart, stripping away, undoing and redoing until something real emerges. Sometimes, the best thing […]
Destruction Is Part of the Process – Deborah Scott Art Read More »
If Everyone’s Comfortable, What’s the Point? Cesar Cruz said it best: “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” If that doesn’t sit well with you, maybe it’s doing exactly what it should. We don’t make art to keep things neat and tidy. We make art to get under the skin, to shake things
Art That Comforts, Art That Disturbs – Deborah Scott Art Read More »
Why Chaos is Part of the Process Willem de Kooning once said, “I am not an artist. I am a mess.” And honestly? Same. There’s this myth that artists are these disciplined visionaries, steadily working toward a master plan. But if you’ve ever stepped into a real studio, you know the truth: art is chaos.
The Beautiful Mess of Being an Artist – Deborah Scott Art Read More »
Why My Messy Studio and Unfinished Ideas Are Signs of Brilliance Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.” And honestly? He was onto something. If my studio looks like a disaster zone and my ideas feel like an unfinished symphony, I know I’m doing it
Creativity Demands Chaos Read More »
The Trap of Certainty A painting isn’t a mirror—it’s a glimpse at something just beyond reach. In my work, I explore these liminal spaces, where reality bends and perception deceives. What we see is never the whole story. Reflections distort. Perspectives shift. Reality bends. We like to think we know what’s in front of us,
Beyond the Mirror: Deborah Scott Art and the Illusion of Knowing Read More »
The Stories That Refuse to Explain Themselves “The most powerful stories are the ones we don’t fully understand.” — Deborah Scott There’s something unsettling about a story that doesn’t resolve. It lingers, sticks to you, makes you turn it over in your mind long after you’ve walked away. That’s the space where my work lives—not
The Stories That Refuse to Explain Themselves Read More »
The Illusion of Knowing Every person is a contradiction—part known, part hidden, part unknowable. Every glance suggests more than it reveals. Every painting pulls you in but never gives everything away. That’s the space where my work exists—the tension between recognition and mystery, between what’s offered and what stays just out of reach. Familiar Faces,
Beyond the Surface: The Art of Seeing Without Knowing Read More »
Why Paying Attention is the Boldest Artistic Act Akira Kurosawa once said, “The role of the artist is to not look away.” If that doesn’t stop you in your tracks, you’re not paying attention. Art isn’t about playing nice. It’s not about making something palatable or universally liked. It’s about seeing what others ignore—the overlooked,
The Artist’s Job? Don’t Look Away. Read More »
to have an assistant like Renoir’s who handles my cigarettes/meds, brushes and pallet like a surgical assistant. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA4pRAZQY3g&w=420&h=315]
My Plan When I Hit Those Senior Years Read More »
Working on my old school newsletter today. This is how it sounds so far… Something about me. Something else about me. Oh… and then there is that other thing about me. And finally, one last thing about me. I don’t know how anyone can resist this stuff??!!!
Writing about Me – the most difficult topic Read More »
