Anton Weiss at work in his studio. Photograph by Rachael McCampbell

This was published in the April 2015 issue of Nashville Arts Magazine

by Rachael McCampbell

I’ve heard it said that Picasso painted right up to his death at age 91. Since he began before his teens, that would constitute as a very long art career.

For most of us though, we have a good 4 to 6 decades to work. An exception being Grandma Moses, who began at 78, had her first exhibit at MoMA, and worked for over 2 decades—but I digress. The question is—how do we maintain long careers in the arts?

To explore longevity, I visited a former teacher and local treasure, 79-year-old abstract expressionist painter, Anton Weiss, in his studio in Pegram, TN. He was working on a six-foot painting in yellow tones–a sunny break from the gray skies outside. In his dark sweater and contrasting shock of white hair, he doesn’t look his age. And when he talks excitedly about his art, the clock retreats even more. He’s ageless.

Anton’s “real career,” as he calls it, began forty-five years ago. He painted representational art and portraits, but after studying under Hans Hoffman in New York, the freedom and looseness of the abstract expressionist’s work deeply influenced him, and he’s been exploring that genre ever since.

Human beings seem to live longer, happier lives if we have a strong purpose—something that makes us want to jump out of bed and begin our day. I’ve noticed that artists who thrive in this business have this quality in spades. For Anton, it’s the actual process of painting that inspires him each morning; it’s his profound teacher. He speaks of his canvases as if they are living things. “It’s not what you put on the canvas but what comes off of it. They inform me, not the other way around.”

Anton Weiss, Light Field #13, 2014, Acrylic on canvas, 46” x 46”

Selling art does not incentivize Anton; it’s that eternal challenge to improve his craft that keeps him going. There’s no expiration date on this sort of desire. There are other artists who are inspired to paint into old age because, quite simply, they are never satisfied with what they’ve created. I could have done better, they say, and stare wistfully at a blank canvas, envisioning the ever-elusive perfect painting.

The carrot before the horse varies from artist-to-artist, but my guess is that for most painters the answer to longevity and how to stay relevant as an artist is based one simple concept—the desire to grow. In Anton’s case, you can feel his commitment to his process. Although he turns 80 next month, he’s still curious—trying new approaches to painting—seeking answers only his art can give him. “This is not a passing fancy,” he chuckled. “I’m going to do this until I die.” Long live Anton!