on painting “There aren’t any reasons for painting. That’s what’s special about it. It doesn’t need justification. It’s essential that it’s not used for other purposes. All of the things which will, as it were, take away from what’s mysterious about it.” Christopher Le Brun, more info: https://www.lissongallery.com/artists/christopher-le-brun
Tag: beauty
From what I’ve read
(i) “To be in favor of solitude is not to be against community or friendship or love. It’s not that being alone is better, just that without the experience of it we block ourselves from discovering something enormously beneficial, perhaps even vital, to selfhood. Who are you when you are not a friend, a partner,…
Running in circles …
… or maybe not? The circle in shape of a vessel resembling a Moon Jar has shown up in several of my recent paintings Moon Jars were originally made during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). They are curvaceous, plain white porcelain jars resembling a full moon. They were made customarily to contain flowers or wine, but…
The worst thing a painter can do is flowers … part 2
Challenging my own prejudices … Tuesday morning I had the great pleasure to participate in the launch of Chloe Briggs’ new Patreon site (more info here). Our task was to draw/paint a big flower of our choice. The session was divided into shorter timed sections, where we were asked to look for different qualities in…
The worst thing a painter can do is flowers … part 1
For the past few years the Danish artist Tal R has made paintings and drawings of flowers in vases. Each work depicts a bunch of flowers picked by the artist from around his home in the Danish countryside, presented in a vase on a tabletop within a closely cropped interior space. See more here: https://vimeo.com/719780431…
The studio
Despite (or maybe because of) everything happening in the big world, my small world has felt like a sanctuary this month – I’m currently working on a series of paintings on board and paper with the working title: “Spring Cannot be Cancelled”, a series of partly abstracted still life paintings of plants & flowers from…
Notes for a new week
I have this praxis of writing morning pages (the Julia Cameron way). I have done them on and off for many years. I do them first thing in the morning. I write by hand in a room lit only by candles (– this to try to fool my inner critic to believe I’m still sleeping…
A silence in which another voice may speak
Beauty is the ultimate form of protest Many of us know Piet Mondrian primarily from his non-objective Neo-Plastic style, and as one of the founders of De Stijl. But there is a pre-history, in which he spent a lot of time drawing and painting naturalistic landscapes and still-life, and the flowers followed him throughout his painting…
Beauty is the ultimate form of protest
“The purpose of art is the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.” — Glenn Gould
sub rosa 