“Two and two do not make four. Only accountants think that. but that is not enough: a painting must make this clear; it must fertilize the imagination.”
– Miró, 1959
Figure I, May 3, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 14.5″ X 17.5″
Just back from Vancouver and Seattle for a family vacation. In Seattle we had the chance to visit the Seattle Art Museum and their current exhibition “Miró: The Experience of Seeing” as well as other great artwork. And this painting has absolutely nothing to do with that.
Nothing new today – just a bit of old artwork from a time when I seemed content with painting the same still life over and over again.
Still Life I, Mar 1995, Oil on Masonite, 12″ X 18″Still Life II, Mar 1995, Oil on Masonite, 12″ X 18″Still Life III, Mar 1995, Oil on Masonite, 18″ X 12″Blue Girl, Apr 1995, Acrylic on Masonite, 22″ X 16″
Maple Walnut Cream II, Apr 13, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 20″ X 16″
I don’t always love to paint. It’s like running. I don’t love running all the time, but I really love HAVING RUN. And I love HAVING PAINTED. Even if the result is really mediocre or even downright crappy and embarrassing. Like something Tim Kreider says about writing – and I translate into painting – having DONE it, I feel that I have somehow earned my keep for another day – or in my case, another week. Yes, it began only after three hours of procrastinating and doing everything BUT beginning… and having finally just started and then just continued and continued and attempted one simple step after another: add the darkest bits here and then all of the highlights in this area and then work a bit on the background and then refine the edges of this or that and then deal with the shadow and maybe a bit of blending in this area to see how it falls together and then a little more finessing over here and some more dark bits and more highlights and some detail and some more build up of colour or depth there and then maybe enjoy a few bits here and there – strokes and marks that are just asking to exist and finally, standing back and taking a look… and maybe hating it and maybe kind of liking it and maybe just saying enough is enough regardless of the outcome.
I don’t love the beginning. I rarely love the middle and I have never loved the end result – at least not after a good night’s sleep and a little distance. Fortunately, I often find little bits here and there that make me happy. And I feel that having put in another four or five hours I have moved a little closer to where I want to be. and perhaps next time I will do better.
I don’t mean to glorify the myth that a person needs to experience some sort of existential torture in order to create beauty (whatever ‘beauty’ may be) yet if it doesn’t cost anything, does it really have any value? Maybe it’s just about taking the first step, committing to something in the moment, following a trail to the end simply to see what happens next and if there is a price to pay, paying it and moving on with no attachment to the outcome, knowing that the value is in the time spent and that will always be intangible and important.
H2O Detail One, Mar 29, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 12″ X 12″
“Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow”
– T.S. Eliot
Having for some reason been reminded of Wayne Thiebaud’s work, Samantha and I made an extra stop today to find some cupcakes that I could paint. As they were fairly coveted, I photographed them when we got home so that we could enjoy eating them BEFORE I painted them. I also photographed ball bearings, apples and glasses half filled with water. (perhaps a result of the lingering effects of seeing Divergent this afternoon.)
In looking at the photos and feeling very un-inspired and mundane, I chose the half-full glass over the cupcakes. (it’s likely the cupcakes will show up down the road.) I was intrigued by abstracted, close up bits of the image on my computer screen and although my intention was to paint one fairly realistic image of the glass, I decided to attempt two detail bits and to play a little. Minimal colour and contrast and yet something I found interesting.
I had spent the week looking at pretty amazing artwork and feeling very mediocre. When I grow up I hope to create work like Heather Hingst Bennett – I am enamoured by her minimal, painterly brush strokes that so beautifully depict her subjects. And I am eternally envious of Lucia Dill’s chairs. Perhaps one day I will be able to so emotively depict everyday objects that somehow express such human situations. I am both so very inspired and yet completely dejected by these artists when I so clearly see the gap between where I am and where I want to be. And yet I can’t not continue. For whatever it’s worth…
Vancouver Public Library completed. I don’t love it, but I don’t really want to continue to mess with it either. It is what it is and I will move on to the next thing.
I’m still working on adding my older artwork to the appropriate pages. And I’ve decided to add a new page showing pieces as they progress and are completed. I am always interested in seeing how different artists develop their work and thought perhaps I could learn something from observing my own processes.
Vancouver Public Library, Mar 22, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 22″ X 16″
“Libraries are the thin red line between civilisation and barbarism.”
Another product of my current painting class and an attempt at architecture. If I am going to paint a building, I’m going to paint a building that I personally like to look at. The Vancouver Public Library, designed by Moshe Safdie, completed in 1995. The painting is still in progress. I hope to finish it this week and post a completed image next week. Let’s see if I can find time to do that.
VPL WIP One, Mar 15, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 20″ X 16″VPL WIP Two, Mar 15, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 20″ X 16″
susanne semchuk 