Searching for Beauty

     I'm currently re-reading one of my favourite inspirational art books--"Creative Authenticity- 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen your Artistic Vision"- by Ian Roberts. The first principle si Searching for Beauty. Ian says the book is not for those who would like to create but are too timid to get started- it is "a book for people who are in the thick of the creative struggle." He says "interestingly, we have come to the point in the contemporary art world where beauty is suspect as an aim in art." He goes on to explain that he doesn't mean pretty or sweet and that a great, powerful, beautiful painting - Goya's "The Third of May 1808" can also be horrifying. It is moving.
      I love where Ian trashes  "the technology of the media  as the vehicle of art, in which the means of communication alone is considered relevant, even devoid of any content". He talks of videos that go on and on leading nowhere. That reminded me of one I saw recently -  in an art gallery--it was as if it was termed "artistic" because it was lousy photography with no point.
     "Life cannot be lived well without standards . Art, as a part of our life, would obviously seem to benefit from standards as well...... I think new standards of meaningfulness in art are resurfacing. Which is where authenticity comes in. Standards that are transformative, that will last, will have to come from a deep, quiet harbor of spirit if they are to anchor us today."
      This book is one that makes an artist question the process and really think about directions and what the artist is trying to express. We all need to  work on our own growth and our authenticity so that our work will matter.
     The drawing is a pastel of Yui in a casual kimono. I tried to capture her beauty and grace. This was a long pose at Life Drawing and is posted in on Pinterest on my Life Drawing folio. I like life drawing because it is always a challenge to capture the beauty of the human figure - even when not necessarily what modern conventions would call "beauty." There is a beautiful person within  and I want to be "authentic" in showing that. I'm currently trying to move in a slightly different direction in some work. This piece is more conventionally realistic  than some things I am trying -although I elongated her a little bit to stress the quiet elegance.

The 1950's era Shopping Mall Nesting Dolls

I've been working away on these for ages and finally got them all done and varnished. the idea is that they are store owners from a shopping mall, circa 1950's. They were painted from a set of blanks that were made in Russia. I gessoed the blanks and painted them in acrylics. The outside one has an added hat,nose, eyebrows and mustache as well as an arm extension and hands to hold sausages. The others  have to fit inside each other, so are all just painted.

Mac of Mac's Meats is the outside doll and wears what used to be the traditional butcher's straw hat and striped apron. He holds sausages which were made from acrylic molding paste.

The second doll is George of Super Save Grocery. He stands beside a display of sale-priced tomato soup and holds organic carrots from a bushel basket. Obviously a man ahead of his time featuring organic produce ! - but, besides a bin of apples, he also has a bin of candy bars.

The third doll is Betty of Betty's Bakery. She wears a gingham dress and a pink apron with a large bow at the back. She has quilted oven mitts on her hands and displays a tray of cupcakes and a chocolate cake with cherries on it. On the other side, she has a tiered display of cookies.

The final four smaller dolls are: Joe of Joe's Hardware. He is carrying a hammer  and displays a variety of goods such as grass seed and bone meal, a broom and shovel, nails, screws and caulking. A practical man ready to help out with advice, he is dressed practically in a plaid shirt and blue jeans.  Next is Pat of Pat's Pharmacy,  looking professional in her white jacket while carrying a prescription in one hand and shampoo in the other. On the other side there is a display of toothpaste as well as one of magazines. Then next is Amy of Amy's Pet Foods, bird cage in hand while one cat is on her shoulder and another is also gazing at the food dish. A large bag of dog food is on the other side. Last is Barbara of Barbara's Beauty Salon - holding scissors and shampoo while a display of nail polish is on the other side. She is smartly dressed in black and displays her gorgeously coloured tresses.

Separation of art from daily life-

     I was re-reading "The View From the Studio Door" by Ted Orland. He certainly makes some important points. "Artists today work in the face of some very large problems. These are the big ones:
              ART plays no clear role in our culture
              ARTISTS have little direct contact with their audience
              ART MAKING is indulged, but rarely rewarded"
Later he says "Step outside the arts community, and the separation of art from daily life is so complete that many people rarely give even a passing thought to the value of art in their lives."
     I think, alas, that he is probably right.  It is hard to know how to keep presenting art to make people realize its importance. Politicians like to talk up the arts - and then give main support to sports! I think one thing that would help is free admission to art galleries. There is a fairly hefty fee for Vancouver Art Gallery and I now hear that it  costs $20 to go to the Ontario Art Gallery -plus $25 more if you want to see the  current featured exhibit of Basquiat! Not too many people are going to take the family to that. In London, the National Gallery is free. It would certainly help encourage people to take a look at the offerings if they weren't charged for entering.
     In the meantime, our art community in Richmond keeps trying to make a difference. This "Afternoon Class" painting was one of a ballet series I did. I liked the sun gleaming on the polished floors and the contrast of the instructor in black while almost all the students are in pastels. Too bad the instructor did not have a big stick and then it would have been like Degas' painting with the instructor. It has now been framed and will be going to Richmond Hospital to bring a little  more art  on the walls. We try.

    

February begins

Here is the full painting of Bob that I used for the February newsletter. This is acrylic on canvas and was a studio painting painted from the pastel done from life, aided with two reference photos. I used the pastel for the January newsletter. Some people call pastels "pastel paintings", but I think of them as drawings as I leave a fair bit of the coloured paper uncovered.  The acrylic painting is much more solid because the whole canvas is covered in paint. The pastel is on the blog for December 14th
    Today is the first Sunday in February and there will be some special clown services in some churches - one takes place in Hackney, London. Usually, it is dedicated to Joseph Grimaldi - the outside nesting doll in my last post. Who knew?

Historical Clown nesting doll set

This is a set of nesting dolls I made in 1993 by painting on a blank set.  The first Sunday in February, coming up in a few days, is the traditional time for a church service with clowns in some locations. While there is some "clowning", it is also a memorial service for clowns who have died the previous year. One service is held in Hackney, London.

The largest doll in this set represents Joseph Grimaldi,  Dec.18,1778- May 31, 1837, considered the godfather of clowns.  Offering comic relief during the Napoleonic Wars,  he expanded the role of "Clown" in English pantomimes and created a lot of the physical humour we associate with clowning. He satirized contemporary British life and made comic mockery of fashion absurdities - which sounds a lot like today's stand-up comics. It seems he may have invented the modern-day male haircut as well as a penchant for unusual hair colouring.

The next clown represents Jean-Gaspard Debureau ( 1796-1846) who took the traditional white-faced clown, Pierrot, from Comedie-Italienne to greater fame. A white-faced clown is a sad clown and Pierrot loses Columbine to Harlequin. Jean-Gaspard changed the usual tall white hat to a black skull-cap. He helped create a lot of interest in clowns in general and with Pierrot in particular with artists of the time - including Cezanne.

Coco is an English clown made famous by Nicolai Poliakoff (1900-1974). Coco was an "auguste" which is a type of clown who is supposed to be a bit stupid and always gets teased and has buckets of water thrown over him and custard pies slapped on his face. Coco had a serious side to his fooling around, however, and toured schools promoting road safety. That walking stick he carries is a Bolesha Beacon used at school crossings. He was awarded an OBE by the Queen for his work.

The next clown is Tom Eller as Harlequin. I believe he was an American clown and there is a poster of him that often appears on E-bay.  However, I have lost my notes as to why I selected him (hey it was 1993, I've forgotten!) - but he must have been in a book of clowns at the time. The colours are what his costume was - although we often think of Harlequin in brighter shades.

The smallest one is Lou Jacobs (jan1, 1903- Sept 13, 1992) the Famous American clown from Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey. He appeared with such well-known clowns as Emmett Kelly but later as an instructor at Clown College helped make the transition to modern clowning. An Auguste clown, he popularized the clown car and was originator of the rubber ball nose. He was also the first living person to have his portrait on an American stamp.

Playing around-

This is a painting that I did of the tall (seven feet!) red lilies growing in my back garden. I was thinking of Rousseau and his paintings from the conservatory - some with jungle animals. To enhance the idea, there is a little  black cat face peeking out in the bottom - you can just make out the eyes and the tail is to the left - but it doesn't show as well in a photograph. At any rate - it is sort of a "Richmond jungle" painting. Sometimes it is fun to play and sneak something unexpected or not too immediately obvious into a painting. I did a Granville Island one quite awhile ago that has since gone on to another home. There is a dog just disappearing around the back of one building - but no-one has ever commented on that! Right now I'm taking a break from the serious fish-boat painting that was quite a challenge. I'll post it in a bit. I'm working on a 10x10 for next November for GuessWho? I had fun when I did "22 Owls" for GuessWho? a couple of years ago, so now I'm doing a lot of black cats in a "Black Cat Neighbourhood " and it is fun. I need to use some small brushes to paint the little faces looking out of windows. Picasso said it took a lot to get back to seeing like a child again. I don't know if I've got there, but I'm having fun playing.

More thoughts on the "unheralded"

     I like to read the essays in the weekday Globe and Mail. Today's was called "A brush with Mr.Williams" and was about a painting that caught the author's eye in a second-hand store. Although it was signed, no information could be found about the artist until some fifteen years later, presumably with the expansion of content on the internet, a detailed obituary was located. The artist, Norman Davies Williams had trained in England and emigrated to Brandon in 1948. the obituary writer noted . "He worked for the joy of working while his wife, Doone, brought home the pay cheque- an arrangement precisely as they both wanted it." Apparently he never entered competitions or exhibited. The art director of the local gallery wrote to the essayist, "Unfortunately, it is the sad life of an artist that talent doesn't always mean a living wage or long lasting fame.   I always remind people that an artwork is valuable if it speaks to you in some way, regardless of its fame or value."
     There are a lot of good artists around today that are not widely recognized but whose works would bring pleasure if they hung in a home.  Maybe some will become the subjects of future "Unheralded Artists" books - or have someone scrambling to find more about the artist of a work they have just found. But we would love to see more action for living artists. We were talking the other day about the need to have people realize that paintings make great gifts and that many can be found with just a little looking. People don't even have to wait for exhibits or  open studios- checking on a site like Richmond Artists Guild produces a lot of names to follow up. Most artists are only too happy to give a private viewing and the collector can find the painting that truly does speak to him or her.
     The painting  above, "The Old Conservatory" is a painting I did awhile back. Some people totally loved it, others, not. I liked the mood and the fact that you don't notice the old lady quietly reading the paper and enjoying the peace of the freshly watered conservatory. Richmond Hospital is doing some redecorating and was interested in some paintings . On a hunch, I included this one in an assortment. The Director of the Foundation really liked this one and said, "This  painting is so serene and beautiful. We would love to find a home for it in the hospital and create a calming environment for patients and their loved ones." I delivered it today so it is one more painting out into the world.