Monday Inspiration: Chuck Close

The artist working on a self portrait. (source)



Chuck Close, Maggie, 1996, Oil on Canvas (source)


These paintings are phenomenal- not in the least for the fact that they are only part of Close's expansive works- he also does prints which in alot of ways are more impressive than his paintings. They are unique works, that deal with representation and abstraction so well. He breaches the illusion made by his realistic portraits by composing those portraits of small abstract peices. The viewer is constantly reminded of the flat surface of the canvas because of the abstractions- even while they explore the illusion of depth the portrait gives.


also check out his site- it's fascinating - Chuck Close home

En Pleine Air

I painted these small watercolours (5x7 inches) on Monday, outside in our yard, while K and the Babe played on the grass, it was lovely to be outside and painting- I'm going to try and do this once a week from now on- maybe even in winter? Snowy watercolours would be so lovely but perhaps a little hard- would you use hot water? and work really fast?

I remember watching a documentary about Canada's war artists and one of them was saying that he tried to use alcohol instead of water for his winter pleine air paintings, and it worked great outside- but slid off the paper like jelly once he took them back into the warmth!

Climbing

This girl will climb on anything lately, In the top photo she's using some art we've recently bought-done by a good friend of mine- it's sturdy stuff, and beautiful, and N finds it fascinating- but still, those are some pricey climbing blocks for baby.

She's all about practising lately - she'd rather try her hand at walking slowly (supported, by hands or walls, or stools), than crawl fast to someplace. Anything that can be moved in our house has been used as a walker- the office routinely looks like someone has broken in and rummaged through my stuff, throwing paper and chairs and toys everywhere. I hand to stand back and look at it all the other day- slightly staggered by the fact that it actually looked ransacked. She stands in the bath tub now too, holding onto the sides of the tub or faucet while she peruses the shampoo shelf- It's madness, She even stands up in the bad when she wakes up!

It's got quite the learning curve-this parenthood gig- just when you think everything is safe they change the rules on you.

Summer of Food: How my Garden Grows

Calendula and Tomatoes
Zinnia and Tomatoes

Yellow Zucchini- though honestly I'm starting to wonder if these are actually straightneck squash- they seem to want to curve up at the neck, and get fatter at the bottom- I may have to let some get big to test my theory.

My Eggplants- I'm in love with these plants, they are pretty enough to plant anywhere.

Pumpkin- branching out.

Winter Squash Blossom- either Bush Delicata- or Burgess Buttercup- I won't know until they fruit as the tags got mixed up when I planted.

the eating from the garden is fairly monotonous latley- swiss chard, swiss chard and more chard- broken up by some zucchini. All tasty- but not really post worthy- next week I'll post about raspberry delights I promise, in the meantime-Happy growing!

Monday Inspiration: Greg Hardy

Greg Hardy, Birch, Spurce and Cumulus, 2009, acrylic on Linen (source).

Greg Hardy, Island, 2009, (source)


I really like these landscapes- they're very dynamic and interesting as paintings. For some reason I tend to think of Landscapes as being very commercial- which they are of course- as people love to buy them, but 'commercial' can be quite the put down in the art world, well perhaps just in the academic art world (i.e. people who don't actually have to make a living off their art because they have the luxury of teaching art, a luxury they've worked hard for- but a luxury none-the-less). I don't see why there is the belief that one can't make commercial paintings that are appealing, that are really good paintings, and that are commercial.

It brings to mind other debates- about conceptual art- about art that is incomprehensible being deemed excellent- as though obscurity is the main goal. I think that's garbage- I think art should represent people, I think artists should try hard to be a voice of the 'masses'- to appeal to the 'everyman'-without compromising their artistic integrity. I think art that requires you to have a master's degree in order to get or like it is bad art.

But I also believe in the original- I believe people should have original paintings on their walls, not prints of original paintings- I wish people knew that a print is a technique- an art medium all it's own, not just a copy of a painting. I wish that it was impossible for Thomas Kinkaid to reproduce his works- so that people had to buy original art from local artists for their walls.

Having to produce my own work for sale has pushed me as an artist- I've been forced to make something that people will want to pay me for without compromising my own needs in creating.
It all makes me think of a conversation I had recently with my brother- about government funding for the arts, I was surprised to hear myself say it- as I've always just staunchly supported grants, but I think that if more artists are forced to live off their art sales, the best of them would find that sweet spot where art can be appreciated by both the public and the art world, where the word commercial isn't dirty.

That's not to say that grants don't have their place- or that all art should be simple stuff that you'd want to hang up in your living room- but just that we shouldn't stop ourselves from making or appreciating art just because it's commercial- as the above paintings show- sometimes a commercial work can feed your soul, and be lush, and complex and look fantastic in your living room.

A Round of Applause?

N has learned to clap this week- it's the most darling thing I've ever seen. She gets the urge and goes for it- clapping like crazy. She gave claps to Dada for playing her toy piano with his feet, and I got a round of applause for putting on my bra in the morning. Indiscriminate clapping now fills my days- it's joyous. I also think it will encourage her to walk as she often wants to clap while standing- obviously- so she needs to be able to stand unassisted.

It makes me realize how important all these seemingly small skills are- and how interconnected as well. Learning to touch your hands together opens so many doors of communication- suddenly you can hi- five people and wave bye-bye, she also seemed to understand that people were complimenting her on her new bib last night- every time they said how nice it was she would pull at it and smile- it's like a puzzle piece has been put into place and now she can put together all these little skills she's been storing up. It's amazing to watch.

Summer of Food: Swiss Chard

This week has been the week of Greens- they're just out of the 'baby' stage- adolescent greens maybe? Whatever you call them they're delicious. I'm thinking about picking most of them at this stage and freezing them- but I've never done that before- does it work to freeze greens- are they tasty?

We're not too fancy with these anyways- just slice up some garlic and season with salt and pepper and either sautee in a frying pan- with olive oil- or in the summer we like to pop them on the grill wrapped up in tin foil.