Lilacs

Day 3 -mostly done-thinking the 'vase' is too prominent

Wednesday of last week (May 10, 2023) everyone on our morning walk was talking 'hail!' So, I came home, covered my vegetable garden plants (we here in Denver know not to plant before Mother's Day-but who listens?), cut some lilacs, iris and hellebores, 'just in case' to bring inside. If nothing else I could enjoy the heavenly scent of the lilacs, or possibly even do some sketching of the flowers on the grey day that ensued. It did rain for 24 hours straight, but thankfully, no hail here. The area where I live has been called  "hail alley."

Sketch of Lilacs

Friday, so two days into the cut flowers shortened life, I decided to paint one of the vases full of lilacs. Being still overcast outside the arrangement was under artificial overhead light. I went and found an unclean previously painted panel, 24"x12" and proceeded. Sometimes, the first run on a used panel is the toughest, especially if the painting was varnished, as this one had been. I could not find a photograph of the painting so I am surprised it was varnished. Despite the effort put in by me, who knows how long ago, to remove the varnish and then sand it, it still lingers. The first flush of new paint means it is absorbed by the old varnish so I must remember to go darker and lighter in value to combat this phenomenon. It doesn't seem to matter - it all ends up monotone.

From Nicotiana to Lilacs- starting the block in- carving out shapes

Day 1-Black almost covered - allowing this layer to dry a bit

Saturday is not so gray and the sun actually shines forth from time to time. But in keeping with what I had started, I turned on the overhead lights. My thought was even if I don't finish the study, it has been fun painting from life and fighting the substrate at the same time. Today's effort felt less like a wrestling match and more fluid and easy. 

Day 2- Big shapes defined

Day 2 before quitting for the day- Lilacs holding up so far 

Day 3 Sunday is just to finish the vase. Which is really for drinking wine, I believe. I inherited it from my parents and is from the 60's when we first moved to Germany. I am not sure what it says on it but I believe it has to do with cultivation of wine.  It does have a handle but I have ever only used it for a vase.

Attachments

I figured out why I was so stuck on one of the paintings I started in January this year. It seems to always be the area one is attached to that is holding up progress and/or one's unwillingness to let go of said area. So even though I haven't finished this piece yet, I wanted to post it to show how attachments you need to let go of, hold you up.

Last Saturday I had dinner with a writer friend of mine. She was talking about a new essay she had written for her online newsletter. She was lamenting that she had to cut the best line out of her latest work to make the rest of the article pull together. How her attachment to that one line was keeping it from being a cohesive whole. But that maybe she could work that cut line in some not yet unwritten piece in the future. I then proceeded to tell her I had the exact same thing happen to me! Except in paint. Her first response was oh how sad! I could not ever reuse it. Which isn't exactly true. I feel that every time this happens there is always a takeaway from it.

This first image is where I had finally roughed in the sky really liking the energy of it. Unfortunately, I put it in after I had already begun painting atop the block-in of the rest of the painting. I remember being intimidated by the sky in the reference, so I was in avoidance mode. Leave it until I am ready or can't ignore it anymore.

When not done in proper order, confusion results

If I had added the sky when the rest of the painting was in the same state (below), who knows where it might have gone, right? My aim is always to keep some of that block-in brushwork but it is so rare, not sure why I keep thinking that will happen.

block in as I figure out shapes and proportions

Here is the painting with the new sky that better fits the rest of the piece. The new sky actually helps the piece overall so much it almost seems like a new painting and yet I feel I was able to keep some of the brushwork I had become so attached to. I can finally go back to the rest of it now that it doesn't feel like two separate paintings. I don't think it will take much to finish. To be continued.

Starting to pull together finally

Musings

Nothing to see here. It has been weeks (maybe even a month!) since I have been able to get to my easel. I am not used to having so much down time. I know that this too shall pass. I think the issue is more about settling down and being home long enough to make it worth it then lack of inspiration, though there is some of that as well. I am taking this time to be with friends and family. When someone asks me to do something I have been saying 'yes' when I used to say 'maybe' or 'no.' It has come to me that I heard the word 'no' so much in my life I got tired of it. So now I am saying 'no' to thinking I have to work all the time. There is something a bit unsettling about it, but not enough to stop what I am doing.

I have been asked quite frequently as to how I have settled into retirement, and you know, I have yet to feel like I have. Having so much time to do as I please is freeing but also a bit intimidating too. A sense of responsibility for my time whereas before my life had a structure to it. I worked 4 full days at my job, and 3 days pretty much at my easel. Now that I can 'get to my easel' any time, I don't! I was very motivated at the beginning of the year, and then I got hit with bad allergies that left me sick and tired. I am over that bout but still lack motivation.

Even though I still have a few block ins I have not yet posted, I am going to wait on those for now. So a wee break for all concerned.

A Journey Back in Time

Earlier I had mentioned that I was on a roll and had started all these new pieces. So here is another one of those starts from early January.

Last year about this time, I went through all the old slides my sister had pulled out of our mother's closest when she died 10 years previously. They had been in my basement all these years as I did not quite know what to do with them. Should I just toss or should I take the time to go through them all? Our mother was a traveler and I knew if I took the time to look at what was there I would find some treasures. They were still in the trays from her old slide projector and meticulously documented where they were taken and when.

So, after going through her slides, I also went through MY slide collection. I had quite a collection as well. Once I sorted through both collections, I picked 50 or so to take to Costco and turned into digital images. This is the second image from my mom's slides that I have picked to paint. This one is from France in the mid 60's. She is in the painting with her close French friend, Beatrice at Beatrice's family farm in the countryside outside Orleans, France, where we lived for 5 years. I picked this image to do for a number of reasons. One, it is my mother as I remember her as a preteen. Beatrice was a woman she met at the Franco American Club, a place for women to meet and cross the cultural divide in new friendships formed. Beatrice became part of our family and after we left France and moved to Germany, my mom often went back to visit Beatrice. I know, because I went with her once.

I was asking myself this question the other day? Is it strange to paint from old photos? Are they dated somehow? I am betting this farm house is still standing and hasn't changed all that much. I wish I knew exactly where it was located.

Here is the progression to date:

Peg and Beatrice, 20x30, block in stage

Peg and Beatrice, 20x30, oil, coming together

The slide made digital image is overly purple. I tried putting different filters over it to see what if any improved it or made it more natural looking, but none of them improved it enough for me to want to go that direction. I am enhancing the warm oranges that are already present and graying down the overall purple color. Believe it or not, that is what I have done here and it still appears purple, but I am okay with it.

Legacy of an Artist

Here is the post (last paragraph) I referred to in my last article on my observations at the Sargent show at the Met. This is not the first time I have noticed this occurrence at gallery openings but it was the first time that it was my focus to observe and not just something I noticed but didn't think much about. I wrote this in April after a talk with a gallery owner.

I was grousing yesterday to a friend of mine about galleries and what, if anything, can I do to fit in. More so than ever galleries today want a name that sells, and who can blame them? After all, they are in the business to make money. It doesn't seem to matter if the work is any good as long as the artist is a great self-promoter and has a schtick. If an artist is a great self-promoter though, why would they need a gallery? I am not great at self-promotion. Although I am often surprised at how many people read my blog or go to my website, I am not one who gets thousands or even hundreds of hits or page views. Is that what it takes today to have a name that sells? Or is it through advertising and teaching classes? I don't know the answers which is why I was grousing. What works for one person does not necessarily work for another. Her answer was to suggest that I think about what I want my legacy of an artist to be.

That is not that hard for me to answer. I write this blog to share the journey as I continue to learn and grow. My intention is to educate; not just you the reader, but also myself. Writing about what I do and why or what the painting is about keeps the purpose in the forefront for me. A painting should tell a story. What is it I want the viewer to takeaway? Did I draw the viewer into the scene so that they feel a part of it?  Does it arouse the viewer to want to know more or to write their own story to go with it? Should it matter if the viewer relates to the subject or not? Shouldn't the art transcend what the subject is? How much a struggle it is to say what you want to say.

I would like to be remembered for helping others to understand the process a bit better; that they can understand art that they might come across; also for being universal in my subjects yet with a cant from the norm. I have recently been told that I don't have a recognizable style. I don't know that I agree with that but I can say I am not where I want to be...

I went to a one person art opening on Friday night and I was watching to see if I could take a photo of someone or a group of people looking at the exhibit. I felt like a stalker. People were trying to stay out of my way as I held my phone up to try and capture someone, anyone, stopping to look at the art. On my way out, I finally got a shot. Unbelievable. Most people were standing around talking; the others were doing a "walk by" much like a "drive by;" in other words, walking through the gallery glancing at the works on display, but nothing was drawing them in enough to stop and look. It was bizarre. I am not sure if it was the works themselves or just this particular crowd. It is for sure something I am going to keep my eye on. That is not what I want my legacy to be. If I never sell another painting, so be it, as long as people stop and LOOK. (note: I have not been to any opening since; at some point I will do a follow-up but I can say that I have seen galleries post photos from art openings and NO-ONE in the photos are looking at the art. The one exception might my 1261.)

quotes to ponder

A book was recommended to me not too long ago, and it finally came in at the library. Guess it is popular little tome. I found a few quotes within it I want to share.

"We want you to take from us. We want you, at first, to steal from us, because you can't steal. You will take what we give you and yo will put it in your own voice and that's how you will find your voice. And that's how you begin. And then one day someone will steal from you."
Francis Ford Coppola

I found this quote to be spot on. It is so true that we try to mimic what we like, but it does come out with our own imprint on it, unless of course,  you are purposely forging, which is not what this is about.

I like the chart from the book (Steal Like an Artist) by Austin Kleon on this subject. It puts in two columns Good Theft vs Bad Theft; I have added a few words to his one word list here and there for those of you who have not read his book.

Under GOOD Theft:

• Honor who you steal from
• Study works of those you steal from
• Steal from many
• Credit those you steal from
• Transform what you steal into your own voice
• Remix 

BAD THEFT

• Degrade who you steal from
• Skim
• Steal from ONE
• Plagiarize
• Imitate
• Rip off

Austin on TED Talk

Gurgy sur l'Yonne aka the Painting from Hell

18x24, oil on canvas

We all have something in our lives which humble us along life's journey. Here is one of mine. I called this piece the "Painting from Hell" for many a year. I started it in the fall of 2009. I can't even show you how far it has come over the years. It is just not pretty. I try to look at these "hit the wall" times as a time of growth. I am obviously not where I need to be, but with persistence, I may get there. I know intellectually what needs to be done but I haven't quite figured out how to apply that knowledge. I walked this painting to the dumpster at least three times and as it hovered over the abyss I would ask myself if I was really going to let this defeat me. (Please note that I do throw paintings away; that is not a difficult thing to do when it is called for.) When I started this painting, I was trying to harmonize the color using the sludge out of my brush cleaner can as the color base or "mother" color. I am still using a mother color in this painting just not sludge. I went to the color of the fog instead. That was not the problem holding me up however. I think it was my very strong natural graphic approach coming up against the subtleties of fog and bringing objects into clarity as they came closer to the viewer. In Colorado where the air is thinner, we do not often have such shifts in the atmosphere. I am not sure this painting will ever be done as long as it is in my possession but it is now acceptable and I hung it at work where it was well received.

This is the village where the previous posted painting was also located. That painting was in the evening, this one in the morning, but they both shared fog. I was on my into town to find a Patisserie to buy breakfast before we headed up river.

Vincent Van Gogh - new theory on how he died

Vincent Van Gogh, one of many self-portraits

A co-worker mentioned last Monday that he had seen a very interesting "60 Minutes" episode on Sunday night. Serendipitously, I found it while following another, work-related story. I must say, I am happy to have watched this as I have read more about Vincent Van Gogh than probably any other artist and it never "sat right" that he would kill himself. If you have a half hour, I would recommend watching the two parts posted on CBS's website. Or look for the October 16th segment of "60 Minutes." I went to Auvers-sur-Oise 4 years ago and it is true. It would have been very difficult for a gut shot man to walk down the hill from the wheat fields to his room in the center of town. I walked it. It is still a very quaint, old world town. If you are ever in Paris I highly recommend a side trip to Auvers. We saw very few tourists there (less than 5); We had the Chateau Auvers to ourselves and it was one of the most memorable museums I have been to.
This show also leaves you feeling sad; Vincent not only had no friends but his own mother turned against him.

Schlock as Art

On the last First Friday I spent the afternoon gallery hopping with my friend from Fraser. Many of the galleries were set up for "First Friday Art Walks." I used to love visiting galleries - to be inspired and to give me a goal to aspire to and to study how some miracle of paint had made some object or figure zing. There are still a few galleries in Denver that have what I consider good art, but not as many as I believe there once was. Even galleries I used to think had "good" art are not living up to my expectations. I know I have grown over the years, but I also think that schlock is more prevalent than I remember. I have always recognized schlock for what it is. When I used the term "schlock" I was asked by more than one person what the definition is. The dictionary definition is:
schlock

1. "trash," 1915, from Amer. Yiddish shlak, from Ger. Schlacke "dregs, scum, dross" (see slag). Alternative etymology is from Yiddish shlogn "to strike" (cf. Ger. schlagen; see slay). Derived form schlockmeister "purveyor of cheap merchandise" is from 1965.
2. n. inferior merchandise. (From German schlacke, “dregs” via Yiddish.) : That store has nothing but schlock.
3. mod.and schlocky. [ˈʃlɑki]cheap; junky; inferior.

There were more than a few gems, but they were far fewer than I would like to see. Paint decorative art if you must, and call it such; but please, not schlock. Remember; as soon as you attempt to do something “just for money” you literally kill the soul of it.

This past week I drove up to Longmont to see the museum show there for Jill Soukup. What a wonderful painter she is. I came away thinking I have a lot of work to do before me! Certainly cleansed my palate (palette?) and renewed my faith in art. Thank you to Jill for raising the bar.

The Upside of Being Rejected

Wait for Me! 20x30, oil on canvas with a bit of wet paint glare

As submitted and not accepted

I know this is a topic not many of us want to discuss in a public forum - the rejection of the jury! While trying not to let this get to me I took the opportunity to critically look at the painting in question with a juror's eye, and I knew they were right in their assessment. I, again, as is my wont, was lazy. I let the current culture of the quick painting take over my inner judgment that this piece really wasn't as good as it could be. The interesting thing to note here is that I had started a blog post in December with the "finished" painting and the original block-in, and never posted it because I saw the inherent problems-the block-in looked better than the painting! But some of us are just plain hard-headed.

There were a couple of things I noted. First, that the sky going into the ocean was way too blue and the value  too dark. I lightened it all quite a few degrees and thought more about orchestrating the ocean waves. I also made the color more neutral (using Cerulean Blue/Burnt Umber/White) . I had known that the beach was the wrong color, and also too dark in value made more so now that the sky is lightened. The reddish cast had to go, so again I went with a more neutral mix (Viridian Green/Burnt Umber/White with some other colors thrown in for variety in the sand). I used the same colors, with different % to make the white caps. The wall I had known was too dark - that my original block-in value was more true, so I took it back to that value and got rid of the blue cast. The Ravens came next and I had been so caught up in the myriad colors that I had lost touch with the form, so I gave them both more form and thought less about all the color, simplifying that. I decided to take more time with the drawing of their legs and to create more of the shaggy appearance ravens are known for. The gulls on the beach came last. I was not content with them anyway, so I took a bit more time with them and yet tried not to give them too much definition to keep them in the background with a secondary place. I still see a few spots that need a little attention, but overall you can see the difference. Another lesson learned the hard way.

The ARTS triumph during adversity

Last Sunday night I stumbled on a PBS TV show called History Detectives. I have not seen this program before. One of the mysteries they were looking at was a copy of a portrait done of a woman's father while he was a prisoner of war during WWII.  The woman was interested in finding out about the artist. This took the host to her father's home where he had the original pencil drawing. The drawing showed a robust, healthy, clean young man, which of course he would not have been, protected all these years by a sheet of German toilet tissue.  Something I learned was that because of the Geneva Convention, the USO sent care packages to the POW's. This man, who the portrait was of, was a POW in Stalag 17B. The USO had sent Journals to the POW's and very few of these paper journals have survived. This man had kept his, mainly because of the portrait, but he had not remembered the artist's name correctly, which is something that was discovered. Anyway, what got me was they showed a number of pages out of this journal, and the pages showed drawings, memorials to their fallen comrades (mostly airmen), poetry or sketches/descriptions of what went on. ie like playbills announcing Christmas Carols, different plays they put on, and other forms of entertainment. What I am getting at is, this man said these activities, this portrait, is what kept them human and a form of defying the circumstances in which they found themselves.

Notice, it is the arts that kept them sane! The portrait was why he kept this journal as a memento; but the rest: poetry, the playbills of their "productions" and the memorial to the rest of his crew, (drawn as airmen's wings) were what kept them going. Pencils were hard to come by so that this book was filled, is another marvel.

To finish off the mystery, the host found out the correct name of the artist, located one of his sons, who positively identified the signature as his father's. The artist (Harold Rhodan) painted on the side, had done other portraits, but did not pursue it as a career. The airman had traded 2 onions and a potato to have his portrait done. He had gotten the vegetables by throwing 4 cigarettes in his sock over the barbed wire to a Russian POW, and the veggies came back in his sock. You can view this episode on PBS online.
In conclusion, the arts, no matter how much the powers that be cut them, will triumph!

Something to Ponder

I had a comment from a coworker on the Alley in Spring that has had me thinking. (I take paintings to work to see them with fresh eyes.) Her comment was that she wanted to like the painting but she just could not get past the dumpster that is front and center. These alley paintings are a reflection of the soul to me. I equate the alley to the inner person. We have so much garbage we carry around, and lots of tidying up we should do, and will do, tomorrow. Yet there is light and hope, and joy as well. To me the dumpster is overshadowed by the happy little dog (joy) and the burst of spring in the new green trees (growth) and the blossoms in all their glory (hope). There is no 'light" in this particular piece, as it is a gray, rainy day; called "local tone," meaning that the local color of the subject is what is shown, ie not influenced by light or shadow.
This photo was taken after I did the fixes that Kevin suggested; ie lighten the sky. He said I then might not have to darken the tree, but I did that as well, but not by much. I also lightened the white garage doors to the left of Pearl and darkened patches of the foreground alley surface to tie more into the dumpster.

another Quote

It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.
~ Napoleon Hill

I have been told that I am very open with sharing what I know or my own experiences with other artists. I am not a famous artist or even a very "successful" artist, but I do have a passion and I want to share with those who want to learn the little that I know. The best compliments I got at the Friday Art Walk Opening was from those who said I inspired them. Music to my ears.

Ten of Zen - Painting from Life

More than a few years ago, I was painting in Spain. A woman I had met on this trip told me about the 10 of Zen. Something recently triggered that memory, and I thought it time to revisit this way to approach a painting outdoors, or any time you are painting from life.

The essence of the 10 of Zen is to use all your senses for 10 minutes and write them down BEFORE you start to work. I didn't do this enough for it to become "habit" but subconsciously, I still make mental notes of what my senses are recording. When you are working with light, 10 minutes can be a luxury you don't always have. But when you get back to the studio and bring out your study or painting, it all comes back to you. I found some notes from over the years with my thumbnails and it is fun to look back; like a mini diary.

P.S. A note on shipping paintings. I heard from a few friends via email that ABEND Gallery will box and ship paintings very reasonably. I don't know what the definition of "reasonable" is, but I will check it out and let you know when next I need to ship a painting.

Paintings and their Names

Look at everything as though you are seeing it for the first time, with eyes of a child, fresh with wonder.

~ Joseph Cornell

Ah, if only it were so easy. Our eyes are clouded with life experiences and knowledge we don’t want to let go of.

On that note, I want to add an addendum to the painting that is now with the Paint America Top 100 show. I always thought “High, Wide and Lonesome” was the epitome of the perfect title for a painting depicting Colorado. The painting had that title from its inception, which is rare for me. Titles of Paintings are the bane of my existence. NOT creative in that department at all. “High, Wide and Lonesome” is the title of a book I read back in my youth about growing up as a homesteader on the plains of Colorado. I read this book way before I ever thought I would be living in Colorado.

But a friend of mine has renamed this painting: “There is a reason the rearview mirror is smaller than the windshield.” (Dear friend of mine, please correct me if I haven't got it quite right) I can’t decide if I like if for this painting, as it certainly fits, or if it is the seed for another painting. Are my ego and my desperate wish to have finally picked a great name for one of my paintings getting in my way?

A Good Reminder

Reading a blog today on the destructive forces of envy and jealousy, I pulled this quote which is from from The Life and Work of Martha Graham.

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.

And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it.

It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions.

It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ...

No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

I had been talking to an artist friend of mine yesterday who was somewhat discouraged by how well another artist's work sold. This betterl-selling artist does not paint anything I would want to own, but apparently her thick paint and bright colors appeal to the general public. It is important to not look at how "well" someone else is doing, and focus on what makes us who we are. This lesson came home to me personally not too long ago.It is important to remember not get caught up in it with all the push of the media, the pust to market, to write newsletters, to push, push, push our way up and out. Slow down, enjoy life!

More thoughts on less is more

This morning I came across a blog post via Facebook; The author of the post wrote the book "I'd rather be in the studio." She echoed what Scott Christensen said last week about not putting just any and everything you paint out there, except she went a step further in saying, destroy those works you don't want your kids to have do deal with if you were to die suddenly. I have destroyed many paintings over the years, but some I am glad I saved. They have given me a vast playground on which to experiment without fear of "ruining anything." Luckily, I painted rather thin so it isn't a problem painting over them. With that thought, here is a painting that I was going to destroy from 2001, but decided to paint over. I found it when I did the deep dig in my basement a few weeks ago. My graphic tendancies really show up in my early work. I did not have access to the red pear this time of year, so I went with a red delicious. I added the plate and napkin, which is not yet complete. This is what I did when we got a half day off from work due to Wednesday's snow storm. I think my reflections are a bit too strong and the bartlett pear doesn't look like it should be upright (it didn't WANT to be upright, either) but it is a good study.

An addedum to What Makes a Painting Good? Lecture

I thought of something else that resonated with me that was not in my notes but rose to the surface this morning. What Scott said about saturating the market with our art; I had come to the same conclusion a few months back. We are in such a hurry to be "out there" and we rush around slapping together paintings instead of taking time and really formulating what it is we want to say. I personally was caught up in trying to have enough to post in my blog so that my viewers would not get bored and forget about me between posts. It is hard to compete with the Daily Painting blogs where artists post a painting a day. Small paintings, to be sure, but still. I then came to the conclusion that I had to follow my heart and hope the rest would follow. I have slowed down considerably and painting larger forces you to do that anyway. But it was good to hear him say that. When you think about, Vermeer only had about 35 or so paintings that are attributed to him, but what paintings they are. We humans always feel better when our conclusions are validated.

Scott Christensen at the Denver Art Museum

This afternoon Scott Christensen was at the DAM. The price of the lecture was museum entrance, so that was a bargain. I have a membership. I had no idea going in what to expect, but it turned out he was going to try and answer the Question: What makes a good painting good? To try and answer the question, we first watched a film from the Lincoln Center of a "lesson" in music using Bach's Italian Concerto. We learned that Bach transcribed Vivaldi's violin concertos to learn "to think musically." (I would liken this to an artist copying from a master's painting in an art museum) And through the Italian Concerto, which was written for a harpsichord only (concertos were typically written for a solo with an orchestra) we learned how Bach did it using the left hand as the orchestra and the right for the soloist; truly fascinating. And a lot of the same terms that were used in describing Bach’s method in music also work for art, i.e. composition, variety, chaos, relationships, order, repetition, modulation, balance, unity and variety. I.e. Too much repetition leads to boredom and too much variety leads to chaos. That subtle shifts are needed; that the difference between great and average is infinitesimal and yet very great indeed. That Bach created tension and variety without being chaotic. He simplified to bring order out of chaos. This ties in to what Kevin seems to be hammering into me, which is to simplify!


Scott Said there are three "p's"...Preparing, i.e. learn drawing, composition, values, tones, relationships (the broken record for aspiring artists); Practice, i.e. do lots of studies and don't think about painting (where have I heard this before, maybe Mark Daily?) and Painting ie where the preparing and the practice come together.

A few things that Scott mentioned that resonated with me in particular were 1. That he had just been to an exhibit of John William Waterhouse paintings. That a few things struck him as very interesting indeed. One was how you could see the strokes of how often Waterhouse had reworked or changed an area to get it to work the way he wanted (I LOVE this as it is always heartening to know how the masters struggle just like we all do) and that out of this whole exhibit, 5 paintings kept drawing him in. That to him, a painting that stayed with someone or kept bringing them back, was a “good” painting.

2. That we have all “seen” a great painting waiting to happen while driving. You stop, you go back, and the scene is gone. The thing is, you saw it at “a glance” while you are driving, but you stop and everything is just there. The scene is overwhelming and the light isn’t what you “saw” at all. So the point is we need to trick the brain and glimpse, not over observe, while painting outdoors.

And I thank Marie for inviting me to join her today, not only was it a good time, and new ways to look at "composing" but lots of artist friends were there as well.

Notable Quotes

Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it. ~ Brian Tracy

This is my quote of the week; last week I was letting "things" get to me and disrupting my peace of mind. This seems like a much better approach to life.