Yesterday was one of those days which goes quickly. At the end of the day I was exhausted. It was a working day, not without creativity. The painting "Four People" exhibited a well defined set of problems which required solving. I made quite a bit of progress in "Four People." I took a little extra time photographing it by setting the lighting very carefully. I wanted you to see a good reproduction of "Four People" in its current state. This painting is now well established. There are hours ahead in making it a brilliant painting. Today I will work on establishing more of the places which now appear as sketches. The work I am now doing follows the exhilaration of the painting's establishment in terms of content and general composition. I am now working on form, color, light, and delicate nuances of the composition. Fun, but not as much fun as the initial and rapid moments of creativity when the ultimate idea of the painting becomes tangible for its first time. I read an essay yesterday by one of my mentors, Philip Guston. In the essay Guston observes there are only twenty extremely important minutes in the making of any painting. I think this may be true. If so, those twenty minutes are in the past for "Four People." Tomorrow I will quote more from the Philip Guston essay, as I found several parts of it extremely relevant to what I am endeavoring to do. Perhaps he can explain it with more clarity. Overall, it was an excellent day in the studio. The two drawings I made yesterday are good ones. I allow my intuition to run freely when I make drawings. Their look always surprises. It seems I am more interested in form and line right now than I am in atmosphere. Why?
Yesterday's work was two drawings and the painting "Four People."
I do not have an image to post of "Four People," however the changes made were mostly compositional. I'll post a photo of "Four People" tomorrow after today's work. I am struggling with its background. The figures make sense to me but not the air in which they breathe, call it the negative space. Today I will endeavor to make the negative space more positive. "Four People" is moving along more quickly than "Pond." All the work on "Pond," and the knowledge from the many drawings of the last four months, has been assimilated. The benefits of my labor are being put to good use. Yesterday's drawings feel a bit odd to me. I have no other comment because I do not know why my discomfort. I will look more today, make more drawings today, and perhaps I will know better tomorrow. For now, here are the drawings made yesterday: It is extremely smooth going in the studio. Everything seems solvable. Perhaps the years of work are paying off in my being able to tackle the problems I feel compelled to solve. I have experienced this feeling of competence and exuberance before. I distrust it will last forever. For now it is a pleasure going to the studio and feeling I can do what needs to be done. Yesterday I remarked the new painting, "Four People," had created a problem very different from "Pond." The frieze needs space to breathe. Today I show version 2 of "Four People." You might find this stage messy, but you can see the spatial problem being solved. The hands of the central figures are an example of initiating spatial dialoge on a smaller scale than in "Pond." I am intrigued by the solution and excited by its pursuit. Here is a photo of the current state of "Four People" (this reproduction disturbs me more by the photo's inability to replicate its nuances than the muddiness it exhibits): The square dimensions of "Four People" allows it to be reproduced in a larger format in this blog than "Pond." "Pond" has a width smaller than its height. This relatively large reproduction of "Four People" does help you see through its smears and smudges, allowing you to glimpse the effort I am putting into forms as small as the fingers.
The one drawing of the day began with a man in full profile (unusual for me). I very much enjoyed the woman's reaction to him with her tilted head. It may not seem like a big deal to begin a new painting. It is for me. It marks my transition away from an obsession with the painting "Pond" and into, what I hope, is more normal life as an artist. I call the new painting "Four People." There is about 3 hours of time in the initial sketch on a 52 X 52 inch canvas. Take a look. This painting is spontaneous. I am learning I make two categories of paintings: (1) planned or (2) spontaneous. Spontaneous paintings are created by me walking up to a blank canvas and making a mark. Since I am all about human interaction, this usually means a human head is begun. In this case I started with the woman of the left and rest developed as reaction to her. Yesterday, before beginning "Four People," a drawing of three people was made. Here is that drawing. The major problem I created with the first sketch of "Four People" is all the figures reside in the front of the picture plane, like a frieze. As you know, I enjoy pictorial sweep of space, as created in "Pond" and "Man with Plants." In "Four People" my other interest is already dominant, i.e. I will obviously concentrate on human interaction, from faces to touches to body language. I feel compelled to place the figures in some kind of space. Today I will endeavor to deal with the background in an effort to make it relevant.
I will return to "Pond" is a couple of days. "Pond" begs for a thoughtful finish. My taking a few days away from it will help me formulate what its conclusion requires. Yesterday's post was much dedicated to questioning the possibility of obtaining happiness. I wrote how certain phases of making art are sheer labor. I opened a channel into myself. When I draw I am mostly happy. For me, being happy is feeling all my cylinders (my physical self, my emotions, my intellect) firing together in unison. It is a grand experience out of space and time. This etherial experience does not always occur while drawing, but it is more often true then when I paint. This speaks of competency. I am working and moving toward this realization of competency and happiness while painting. Clearly, happiness does not mean I do not feel pain, anxiety, and frustration. These feeling are all part of being centered in one's existence and humanity. This is the stuff that makes true art. Here is the painting "Pond" as it sits on my wall today. Reproduction does not do it justice. Standing in front of this painting, which is nearly 6 feet tall, and feeling it radiate space, form, and light, is a grand experience. This is the experience I believe Tony Schwartz wrote about in his guest blog in the Harvard Business Review (quoted in yesterday's post) when he wrote: "Happiness — or more specifically, satisfaction — is something we mostly feel retrospectively, as a payoff on our investment." I agree, this is true, but it is a limited definition. I feel this kind of "happiness": when I look at "Pond." This happiness is an important factor in my continuing to paint. More important, however, is the "happiness" I feel while making art. The satisfaction of feeling one with oneself, firing on all cylinders, is truly the stuff which pulls me into the studio every day. Looking at a painting as well constructed as "Pond" is a payoff. No, "Pond" is not complete, but it is very close. And here is the one drawing from yesterday... The painting "Pond" continues. I often ask myself why the struggle toward perfection is, for me, a constant. Working well means total immersion, time disappears and the march toward perfection is accomplished. Is this happiness? I often think happiness is best found in moments when I look at an accomplishment and feel, "That is good." This sound Biblical, as I believe God felt this way after creating the universe (as depicted in the book Genesis, but don't quote me on this as my religious knowledge is limited). In any case, on Tuesday October 5 Tony Schwartz wrote a guest blog at Harvard Business Review entitled “Happiness is Overrated.” Schwartz is the author of "The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working" and CEO of "The Energy Project." In the blog Schwartz wrote:
“Paradoxically, when we seek happiness as the ultimate state, we’re destined to be disappointed. Absent unhappiness, how would we even recognize it? If we’re fortunate, happiness is a place we visit from time to time rather than inhabit permanently. As a steady state, it has the limits of any steady state: it’s not especially interesting or dynamic. … [It turns out] that pain and discomfort are critical to growth, and that achieving excellence depends on the capacity to delay gratification. When we’re living fully, what we feel is engaged and immersed, challenged and focused, curious and passionate. Happiness — or more specifically, satisfaction — is something we mostly feel retrospectively, as a payoff on our investment. And then, before very long, we move on to the next challenge.” I feel similarly in my making of art. Yesterday "Pond moved closer to completion. The fat lady's body and the head of the middle figure are just about finished. I better not predict a finish date again, as I continues to be surprised with the amount of time this painting requires. I promise just this: "Pond" will be completed. Otherwise, two drawings were made. I like them both. They both felt good while being made (happiness?). Yes, maybe happiness resides in knowing and feeling while doing, as I sensed while making these drawings. "Pond" does not feel good while making, it feels like work. Most of my drawings do feel good while being made. I believe I will feel "happiness" when "Pond" is completed and completed well. So, there are different kinds of happiness. If you have read all of this blog today I hope you feel some satisfaction despite my leaving you with more questions than answers. Here are the drawings from yesterday: The fat lady of the "Pond" has just begun to sing. Yesterday I devoted a few hours to her and most surprising is my engagement with her. I knew she needed to be revisited before "Pond" concluded, but I did not realize it would become an intensive re-make. I do not have a photo of "Pond" to post today, but I believe (as I have said before) this painting is near conclusion. The last great change in "Pond" is occurring now, in the fat lady. After her, there is just not anything left except touch-ups.
Here is the drawing from yesterday: Today is a beautiful autumn day in New England. It is about one hour after sunrise. The fog above the river is clearing, allowing one to see the glorious fall foliage, which is in peak (always the second week in October around here). The colors, yellows, reds, and oranges, mixed into sparsely distributed complementary green, are brilliantly lit by the crystal morning sun. I tell you because I will take this day to enjoy and relax. I will take a rest from art, and so there will be no post tomorrow. But yesterday I did draw, and here are the two drawings:
The painting "Pond" and I need introspection before the final burst to finish. I show its current state today, realizing it needs a few hours of refinement. The final alterations on "Pond" may be minor in composition and form, but they will be major in expression. For instance, if the heads and bodies do not take on the proper light the forms would remain but their substance in place and time would lack expressive conviction. Here is another minor change which will take a couple of hours: the woman's body is not as full and robust as I would like. She needs to exude a full and powerful presence. At this point parts of her have the roundness she demands, and some parts do not. Most apparent is her stomach, which begs to thrust a bit forward in roundness. In any case, I feel like the distance runner, whose has trained hard and well, and requires a couple days of rest before the big race. I am thinking this Wednesday, October 13, will be the day to complete "Pond." And, here is the one drawing I made yesterday. There is a new fluidity of approach in my drawing. I am hoping this will be part of my next painting. I have done so much more drawing than painting, but seek the same directness of expression in both. It has taken nearly four months for me to find the expressive truth in "Pond." I wish for my painting to be as directly expressive as my drawing. I know the fusion of making and expressing will transpire through the days of labors I am in the midst of doing. I am impatient, but I feel the unification of act and expression is in the process of becoming real.
You and I must wait. Yesterday I put several hours into the painting "Pond." I have no energy in me to work on it today. So, I'll do other stuff, make a drawing, go for a ride or walk. I will make at least one drawing, because I need the fix for the day. "Pond" really is all there, even the rocks were repainted yesterday, readjusted to make their formal rhythms work better with the overall composition. I also painted on the left figure's head and upper torso. All of "Pond" is ever-so-close to completion, but it requires a clean up, and that's it. This last burst of refinement will wait till my energy returns (I'm guessing Tuesday or Wednesday - today is Sunday). I will photograph its current state today so you can see what it looks like before the final finish is applied. The photo of "Pond" in its current state will be posted tomorrow.
I continue to draw with ease and pleasure. The drawing made yesterday was fun in the making. This kind of fun does not seem to hang around a lot in my work, so I will enjoy it while it lasts. I am hoping I have reached a new level of competence and this will continue to feed my joy. Here is the drawing... |
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May 2024
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