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As the end of my last week in Vermont comes to a close, I’ve been thinking of my approach and motivation as an artist and how my sketch tour has played into that.
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For example, John and I were at the Orleans Country Agricultural Fair, and it was wonderful. I’ve never been to an event like this and I was delighted to see all the handcrafts, the prize winning vegetables and pies, and to watch the children petting and grooming horses and other livestock. I was amazed at how inspirational the experience was for the artist in me. I can’t wait to translate the feelings and images into paintings and share this little piece of Americana, to show others what life is like up here.
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The sketch tour, not to mention my broken ankle, has forced me into a pace, a schedule and rhythm so I have a nice schedule as to when to read, when to paint, when to study as well as ample time to practice which has just been wonderful. I’ve painted every single day.
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I’ve found that Turner used to do a summer sketch tour every year of his life and that led to an enormous output. I felt a great nostalgia or connection when I read that.
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The approach I’ve taken is first to master the technique while trying not being a slave to it. When I go to paint something I want to be able to use technique as a tool and not be frustrated by my inability to do that.
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I’ve focused my attention and practice to water color techniques. I was reminded of this fact when I recently used acrylic to create postcard for someone who has been wonderful and supportive about the new direction my life is taking. However, despite the acrylic medium, I found myself painting with water color techniques and aiming for a watercolor feel and look. Obviously, I couldn’t send an actual watercolor postcard because the image was unlikely to survive to its destination.
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I like to interact with the subject. Up to now, that has largely been nature. What I mean by “interacting” in a sense of wonderment, joy or whatever it is I feel when I see my subject. Even the most mundane things can create this feeling. For example, Verizon’s cell phone service is extremely spotty in this area. To put it in their own terms, most of the time they can’t “hear me now.” Perforce, I regularly find myself in the middle of a cornfield about a half mile from where we are staying in order to keep in touch. But still, that cornfield is inspirational.
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Also, there are so many butterflies here. Every time I’m sitting outside there are usually two or three. To watch them flittering about, gives me, brush in hand, a delightful feeling.
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Once I develop that response, I try to communicate it in my painting.
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I’m still not sure how I would categorize my style. I was quite young when the modern abstract movement was reaching its crest. While I didn’t understand it at the time, now, with it as part of my cultural environment, I’m becoming more appreciative.
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However, My style seems largely influenced by the impressionists. I don’t want to be a “mere recorder” as some of the post-impressionist artists criticized the earlier movement, and tried to move beyond. I want part of myself to be part of each work.
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Part of me sees the process of creation as much like part of the scientific method, collecting data. I feel that when I’m studying, photographing or looking at various subjects. I’m now seeing them in a different way. The images, even of the minutest object, have an enormity, an immenseness, that calls for a reduction, a distilling, to allow the uncovering of aspects that have been hidden by the sheer mass.
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When I synthesizing a painting and communicate my response, I feel I am summarizing the data in much the same way the report of an experiment or study has a conclusion wherein readers are invited to comment.
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In the final construction, I’m continually amazed that individuals have such different responses. It’s gratifying to know that there is something intangible yet quite real that goes on in the process of creation. Being part of the process is one of the major things that has drawn me to art.
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My motivation is related to my approach, responding to the subject and then communicating that response. The entire work, both seen and unseen, evokes a very mystical and spiritual response, and that is what I’m trying to convey.
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Art of any generation is a reflection of its surroundings and culture. I see myself as an East Coast Remodernist artist. I try to paint in a representational manner, but in a manner that creates a spiritual feeling in the work. These four weeks in Vermont have certainly clarified much of that for me.
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As this stay in Vermont comes to a close, I’m looking forward to the trip home during which I’ll stopping to try to capture some of the Appalachian atmosphere.
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