ArtBlog

Painting to music March 2009

Much has been written about the therapeutic benefit of listening to music. Extensive research furthermore emphasizes a clear connection between music, perception and learning. Music has an impact on the brain. The advertisement industry for sure has exploited the suggestive power of music for decades.

Many artists work while listening to music. I too, like to paint to music. Music heightens my senses and elevates my spirit.

The choice of music is of course highly personal. At times this may become a problem when painting with others. In such situations a repertoire that includes a wide range of genres usually pleases everyone.

While I might listen to Mozart when writing or to Vivaldi when studying Italian, when painting I opt for what I consider sexy music, music charged with evocative energy. Such music includes Flamenco guitar, gypsy style music, sultry boleros, sambas, cool jazz and the blues. When my body moves to music my paintbrush becomes more mobile. When my body moves to music my senses tame the intellect.

You might find too that listening to your favorite music fosters a sensory atmosphere and enhances creativity.

Happy New Year! January, 2009

Well, in reviewing the resolutions I published last year, I decided to give myself a “B plus”. Realistically it should be a “B minus”, the plus is the little ego booster we all need especially in these dreary times. Instead of listing resolutions this year, I wanted to share with you in 12 sentences the things I enjoy. The difficulty here was to limit myself to 12.

I enjoy a sunny day, the fragrance of lavender, rosemary and fresh hay.

I enjoy walking into a bright and spacious room filled with warm colors and only very little clutter.

I enjoy being with happy people…no, not the kind who are always high in la-la-land…I mean really happy people who radiate and make me feel warm because they have such joy and compassion.

I enjoy the sweet eyes of a loving pet looking at me on cold winter mornings when all is silent.

I enjoy the sounds, smells, breath and mysteries of nature; I pray to its formidable goddess.

I enjoy eloquence without stuffiness, open-mindedness without self-righteousness, a sense of humor without sarcasm.

I enjoy the welcome and full embrace of those who love me.

I enjoy being French; dressing with a hint of elegance, wearing not too much make-up and never chipped fingernail polish (mon dieu, quelle horreur!)…I also enjoy speaking Italian, it makes me feel so sexy.

I enjoy moments of serene solitude when I can clear my head in an attempt to see better with my heart.

I enjoy the simple pleasure of a good egg poached to perfection.

I enjoy all rituals that celebrate life with reverence and without dogma.

I enjoy it when music transports me and I can lose myself with complete abandonment in the sensation of a painting.

Happy New Year to all my friends and art lovers! Try your own list; it will make you feel good.

Recycling oil paint and recipes for unique mélanges February, 2009

If you have been painting for a while you probably have many “end of the tube” paints left. I keep mine in two boxes for both warm and cool colors. When the boxes recently overflowed, I decided it was time to recycle paint and came up with some amazing mixtures.

To do this you’ll need scissors to cut the tubes because some will be too difficult to unscrew as they have become seasoned. I have found that squeezing paint out of a cut tube when the tube is nearly empty is easier and more efficient. You’ll need small to medium glass jars with metal lids; they are available at most art supplies stores, vinyl gloves and something to stir your mixture. You will also need some linseed oil which will make your mixture easier to blend and more malleable. It will add renewed viscosity and body to your paint. The amount of linseed oil will depend upon how dry your paint is. I like my paint to feel like soft butter so I tend to add more rather than less. In addition to the linseed oil I suggest you add some oderless Thin-X.

In general I keep the vibrant colors together, separate the earth tones from the dark colors and also keep the more opaque tones together. Here are some mixtures that have blended themselves into beautiful hues for me and you might want to try them.

Hot Rouge
Every red except flesh tones, pinks, alizarin crimson, red earth tones and some cadmium orange.
Sunshine Yellow
All yellows except ochres and Naples’s yellow light.
Deep Green
All greens including some turquoise except terre verte, olive, chromium green and sap green.
Cool Blue
All blues except indigo.
Bright Black
Alizarin crimson, indigo, some viridian, some purple and olive green.
Terra Dolce
Yellow ochre, flesh tone, Naples’s yellow light, red earth and siennas.
Umbria
Browns, orange earth, some cadmium orange, sap green, some purple
Ivory
All whites
Clay

Whatever colors are left. At times the results are great but this mixture can also turn into a horrendous sludge.

You can recycle acrylic paints the same way. You’ll need to add water and some gel medium for acrylic paints. Have some fun experimenting with your own mélanges. You’ll find it is a creative way to recycle and use up every bit of paint while discovering new hues.

This poem I wrote 3 years ago is my “artblog” choice for December 2008

Christmas

It was a time too long ago

When I lived with Papa’s parents

In a small town in Eastern France

Grandpa was not Christian

And Grandma was very so

Not that any of this ever mattered

Papapa Jacob instructed me early

That the Christmas tree mind you

Was a pageant tradition

Mistletoe picked by the druids

Every fall Papapa Jacob would gather

Pinecones tree mushrooms

Treasures from the forest

Which he handled with reverence

Above the barn the attic full

Of flagrances of drying herbs

Secret remedies and wild flowers

Hanging like magic lollipops

From the high beamed ceiling

Together we would decorate

The tree with nature’s ornaments

One week before Christmas

Grandma also hung tiny chocolate

Bottles that looked like rare wine

Wrapped in brightly colored foil

And oh yes I was to open one

Every night before going to bed

With my teddy bear Nounou

It was a time too long ago

When Christmases were good

The one when Papa made for me

A toy kitchen in the basement

The time he played Santa Claus
And the time my aunt Adele
Visited and she and Papa talked
The time I made paper angels
The time I spent Christmas with Edgar
Later in college when it was so warm
All the snow melted in one day
The many Christmases I collected
Exotic hand made ornaments
Carefully kept wrapped in boxes
When I lived in Cambridge

Other Christmases followed
Waiting for the baby that never came
The time just before one Christmas
When love left me sitting in a cold
New York apartment in a snowstorm
The time I threw the ornaments in the trash
The time I went to California alone
The last Christmas I talked to Papa
The time when mother said
She did not know me
Christmas spent in an airplane
Above the Atlantic Ocean alone
The time when Christmas music
Nearly drove me insane and
I drowned myself in eggnog
Like Papa and his papa
I am not even Christian
And yet I envy those who lull
Themselves into some kind
Of Christmas metaphor of salvation
Wallowing in pathetic cynicism
I can no longer stand the mall
The Santa hats on grownups
And plastic reindeer antlers
The what have you not stuffers
The jingle bells and neon garlands
And yet I know
It is all really up to me
I mean the holiday spirit
It has always been up to me to see it
In the perfection of a snowflake
The laughter of children at play
The joy of unconditional giving
The extended hand of a friend
I can look at a winter sunset
Revel in the gratitude for receiving
The memories of past Christmases
When I believed in wonders
It is all up to me
To bask in Brahms’ Requiem
Marvel at the colors in his paintings
To close my eyes and feel
Papapa Jacob’s smile in my fingertips
To rejoice in the gift of this moment

Giving Titles September 2008

Someone recently asked me how I choose titles for my artwork. I hadn’t given it much thought before, titles just came to me it seemed. Yet, the question is interesting and invites some exploration.

As a matter of principle I prefer not to give a title with a negative connotation. Who in his or her right mind would want to hang on hi or her wall a painting titled “His Compulsion” or “Neurosis III”? No thank you! I do not wish to contribute to the pool of bad news; I’ll leave that to the journalists or to the provocateurs.

Titles can be just plainly and unpretentiously name the subject matter such as “Tomatoes”. I like to add a nuance but without too much interpretation since I hope the viewer will discover an attribute on his or her own. So instead of just “Tomatoes” or “Bouquet” I might prefer “Ripe Tomatoes” and “Birthday Bouquet”. To me, short titles limited to two words are preferable as they are perhaps easier to remember. Evocative titles without too much drama are usually also pleasing such as “First Sail” or “Quiet Embrace” as they may invite to imagine a narrative. I stay away from titles such as “Composition #3”. To me such titles are too clinical; I can’t warm up to them. While I might opt for an occasional foreign noun especially if it is a cognate, I usually stay away from esoteric terminology only a few can understand. Ultimately choosing a title is obviously a question of personal preference.

Are titles important? Different artists will give you different answers. I feel titles are very important. Naming a painting that I have produced and finished is for me a form of acknowledgement. It gives me a sense of accomplishment the way signing a painting does. Furthermore it is a form of reverence for the creative process itself.

Painting With a Palette Knife August 2008

My friend Sheila O’Donnell just reminded me the other day how much easier clean up is, when using a palette knife instead of a paint brush. Wiping the blade clean with a paper towel or rag does not require the use of any solvent which is so toxic to the environment let alone to your skin. For plein air painting, when keeping the amount of supplies to a minimum is desirable, palette knives are a great alternative to paint brushes.

Palette knives come in all sizes and shapes. Technically knives fall into 2 categories; painting knives and palette knives. Palette knives are flat and resemble spatulas or spreaders. They are designed to pick up paint and clean the palette. Painting knives have a more distinct bend between the blade and the handle, and look a bit like a trowel. To me such distinctions are inconsequential, I use whatever feels right.

I usually have 3 ready to use; a large flat one that allows me to quickly spread a lot of paint, a medium size and a triangular shaped one for details and small strokes. I prefer to use the ones that have a metal blade and a wooden handle over the plastic ones which I find less sturdy.

Using a palette knife is ideal for a variety of techniques such as impasto, when a thick layer of paint is applied to create volume, shape and texture. It is also great for splattering, scratching and for sgraffito, a technique in which paint is scraped off of a multilayered surface to reveal a previous layer. It is an optimum tool for creating all kinds of texture.

With a palette knife paint goes on to the canvas like butter. One cannot be timid about it. When using a palette knife, I find that several layers of paint tend to sit on top of one another rather than get blended quickly to way they do when applied with a brush. It is easier to keep colors separated and clean.

Beyond the obvious advantages, I find the use of a palette knife over a paint brush less fussy. Indeed equipped with my palette knife, I approach a painting with greater spontaneity…pretty much the way I like to cook. I feel energized, ready to experiment and improvise, confident that the effort will somehow pay off.

Silent Dialogue With The Canvas . July, 2008

Silent Discussions

Leave the outside for a while

And talk to me silently

In the language of sunlight

With nuanced pauses

Long suspended expressions

In quiet acquiescence

We understand each word

Like a breeze reaching out

To touch spaces in the mind

Together soon yielding

To a common vocabulary

Of primal known purpose

Tuned in to the same frequency

Weightless words carry me

Beyond obscure semantics

Towards translucent radiance

As ripe as autumn colors

Behind familiar vineyards

Talk to me in silent whispers

The language of a new moon

When our bodies revealed

And feelings anchored

In soundless undulations

Dancing to serene tunes

Still magical ballades

Moments in the heart halted

Soft sighs and rhythms

In silent discussions

You lead I follow

What cannot be understood

In our ordinary words

Talk to me in riddles

An ancient liquid language

As natural as ocean air

As soft as sea foam

Talk to me in your tongue

Move me in metaphors

Sway me to your beat

Velvet steps to the sea

Take me into your eyes

Towards what is meant

In silent discussions for me