Monday Inspiration: Jean Paul Riopelle

Jean Paul Riopelle, untitled, 1954 (source)

Jean Paul Riopelle, untitled, 1956 (source)

Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002), is one of Canada's Masters really, though I hesitate to say that I don't really know much about him- didn't learn about him in school at all- I think possibly that's a reflection on French Canada vs. English Canada. At any rate I love the colours of the images, but am not overly fond of them- possibly- like Pollock, they need to be seen in person in order to really be appreciated. I think the comparison to Pollock is unavoidable, they painted at the same time, and they are really similar. However Riopelle seems to be more truly abstract, with no subject matter- but the paint itself, while Pollock's work is mostly based on an abstracted subject- with the exception of his drip paintings.

I like the methodical feeling of Riopelle's works. Even though they are abstract, they seem controlled, planned or thought out even. Think of them in comparison to Pollock's drip paintings' wild drops and sprays, which are largely accidental on purpose. I love the diaphanous quality of the watercolour example above, and the way that the black dots and squiggles interplay with the brighter sheer colours.

Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here.

Monday Inspiration: Walter Joseph Phillips

Walter Joseph Phillips, The Bather, 1923 (source)

Walter Joseph Phillips, Norman Bay, Lake of the Woods, No.1 (source)

Walter Joseph Phillips (1884-1963) was born in England and studied in Paris and South Africa. He moved to Winnipeg Manitoba and used the surrounding Manitoba landscape as his subject matter. I think his prints are amazingly delicate, those slender lines, and gradations of colour lend a watercolour feel to them. Which is unsurprising because he worked in watercolour also. I particularly love the images that contain people within them, and the way that he deals with that interaction. Maybe because his works are so similar to group of seven- but those works have been so criticized for not containing people, or- more rightly- for making the Canadian landscape feel wild and untamed and void of humans, when in reality they mostly painted in parks and cottage country (with a few exceptions of course).

Monday Inspiration: Henriette Fauteaux-Masse

Henriette Fauteux-Masse, 1962, Labyrinthe (source)

Henriette Fauteux-Masse, Avalanche, 1960, (source)

Henriette Fauteux-Masse (1924-2005), studied in Paris in 1951, after years of exploring painting on her own. After she returned to Quebec, she continued to teach herself to paint, and was very successful, her work is collected in the national gallery and she was a member of all sorts of art communities. I love a history of someone who is self taught- and succeeds- I often think that art school(especially the degree aspect of it) is a bit of a waste of time- but it seems that these days the degree holds sway, sometimes, nice to see that the opposite can sometimes be true.

I love these bold works, the colours are so vibrant- but restrained in quantity to make them really pop, and you just tell that these works are really juicy in person; full of marks, and slashes and smears that recall the making of the work, the process behind the finished piece. I especially love the way that the lone curved box in Avalanche makes the whole painting seem unstable, makes all the blocks feel like they're in motion. It's that moment right before everything falls where it all freezes and looks weightless.

Sorry for missing last week- I'm sort of amazed by how the addition of School (part time at that!) changes so much of our (unorganized) routine, we're settling into it, but also dealing with a cold too (she must have caught it on the first day-I'm aghast- and pumping out the immune boosting tinctures). Hope you're all enjoying these last few days of summer!

Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here.

Monday Inspiration: Yulia Biriukova

Yulia Biriukova, Prospector, Peter Swanson, 1934 (source)

Yulia Biriukova (1897-1972) was born in Russia, and Immigrated to Canada in 1929. She taught at the College of Upper Canada, and was well known for her portraits- which are collected by many galleries. I just love this portrait. His head is so small and his arms so big- maybe they really were like that- but I think it more of an exaggeration. It gives this enormous sense of power- that along with his solid blue shirt- which really acts as a big block of colour right in the center of the canvas adds to the feeling of strength. The minimal background with it's high colours, and the way the figure overtakes them makes you feel like this guy was a strong personality. Now wouldn't it be funny to find out that he was a mild mannered prospector?

Monday Inspiration: Louise Gadbois

Louise Gadbois, Woman with a Mandolin, (source)

Louise Gadbois, Femme au plateau des fruits (source)

Louise Gadbois (1896-1985), studied with Edwin Holgate, and John Lyman exhibited in Montreal and Quebec, interestingly she also did an exhibition with her daughter- Denyse Gadbois. She was best known for her portraits- which I think are very Modigliani-esque. I love her brushwork though, rough and choppy- I think it takes guts to let that much roughness into your portraits- most people prefer a more traditional look when it comes to that type of painting, landscapes are fine as rough as ever, but there's something about portraits that makes people yearn for a delicate touch.

Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here.

Monday Inspiration: Sarah Roberston

Sarah Robertson, The Red Sleigh, 1924, (source)

Sarah Robertson, The Blue Sleigh, 1924, (source)

Sarah Robertson, (1891-1948)- was a landscape painter who studied under William Brymner- and was a member of the Beaver Hall group. There's a great and thorough bio of her here. I love these paintings- so serene and calm, things are crazy here right now- big family gatherings are happening, storms are knocking trees down- the buzz of chainsaws fills the air, my spirited child is being oh so spirited- and it's really, really a lot. I was thinking of not posting, and then thought better- and I'm glad that I'm just throwing these up there- they have a haunting solitary feel- that seems just like what I need right now, I'd like to transport into the body of the woman in the red sleigh- if only for a minute.

Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here.

Monday Inspiration: Edwin Holgate

Edwin Holgate, Suzy, 1921 (source)

Edwin Holgate, Portrait of a Woman, 1930, (source)

Edwin Holgate, Self Portrait, 1934 (source)

Edwin Holgate (1892-1977), was a Montrealer, and a member of the Beaver Hall group, he was a prolific painter of the human form. His works have that 1930's feel about them- solid figures, with a well defined physicality. His works aren't about light or colour or texture- though that's all there of course- they're about the human form, about making you feel the round heft of a forearm, the smooth plane of the cheek and nose.

His colour palette is so similar to Lilias Newton and Prudence Heward- that there is no doubt that they worked closely together- things like a favorite shade of plum or mustard rubbing off on each other. I love seeing that and seeing a bit behind the process, I like art the best when it reveals a bit about the artist. I think that anything made by hand should contain some sort of clue as to the personality of the maker, some memento that this was made by human hands.

My main dislike of renaissance art is that it's too smooth, too slick- it looks just like the image in the catalogue- there usually isn't a single brush hair to remind you that someone made this by hand. I think that's just a concern now- of course- in this day and age of manufacturing, Michelangelo wanted the image to look foreign as though it was it's own creation, made by nature, not by him. That was the ultimate coup, I guess.

Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here. 

Monday Inspiration: Elizabeth Cann

Elizabeth Cann, The Soldiers Wife, 1941, (source)

Elizabeth Cann, Mrs Kary Wyman Baker, (source)

Elizabeth Lovitt Cann, (1901-1977) was so well educated, it amazes me, she studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine arts, the School of Applied Design for Women in New York, and also in England and Paris (full bio here). She had money behind her, and that really seems key for women back then (funny when all we generally have nowadays is the 'starving artist' ideal). She's mostly known for her portraits of women and girls, though she did landscape as well.

I love portraits of Women by Women, they are so different from portraits of women by men. The idea of women being painted as an object to look at instead of an actual person with motives of their own is a subject much talked about- (I spoke about it a bit here- while talking about Manet's Olympia). It's much more interesting to see women when represented by women because their physicality often takes a back seat. I don't just mean no breasts and legs on display- though that's part of it, certainly, what I mean is that when men paint women often it's about the line of their bodies, the curve of a back, or jaw, or nose, just about the simple beauty of a female subject, their grace and feminine presence. When a woman paints a woman it seems as if she's just seeing her as a person, as herself, not the 'Other'.

The Soldiers Wife is just so poignant, and the expression so real, it brings you right there to where that woman is in time. I also love the floral patterns as she painted them, not too detailed, and not too loose.  I did a portrait of my Great Grandma once and there were so many floral prints, I just about lost my mind, it was a real test to try and get them just right.  

Monday Inspiration: Caroline Farncomb

Caroline Farncomb, Mary Harris, 1906, (source)

Caroline Farncomb, Wild Duck, 1901, (source)

Caroline Farncomb (1859-1951), was a well exhibited London Ontario artist. That's pretty much the extent of info on her on line. No personal history seems to be out there- she studied art in London, New York and Paris, and then returned to Canada where she painted landscapes, portraits, and animals.

I love the feathers on this duck- so gracefully swept back, also it's little limp beak and feet, very evocative. I also really love the pose on the portrait of Mary Harris- I've spoken before about the potential awkwardness of painting portraits- people always want to be seen a certain way- and invariably say- "that doesn't look like me!" or "Do I look like that?!" in a horrified way if you actually capture their likeness honestly (though if you make them more attractive than they think they are- they're usually pretty quiet about it). I wonder what the reaction to this portrait was- where Mrs. Mary Harris looks so distracted, and not quite happily distracted either... it makes you wonder.


Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here. 

Monday Inspiration: William Brymner

William Brymner, In the Orchard- Spring, 1892 (source)

William Brymner, The Picture Book, 1898, (source)

William Brymner, The Vaughan Sisters, 1910, (source)

William Brymner, Lady with a Parasol, 1918, (source)

William Brymner (1855-1925), came to Canada in 1857, he studied in Paris, and then came back to Montreal, where he mentored and taught other Artists. He taught several of the members of the Beaver Hall Group. There was a wealth of info about him online- perhaps that speaks to a difference between Male and Female Artists (I've been sort off scraping up whatever images I can find for most of the females I've been writing about). They are wonderful paintings, detailed but still loose, and the later works are much more painterly in style.

It's interesting to see the style change in Lady with a Parasol and The Vaughan Sisters- two things likely make these two images so different in style- Parasol was painted 8 years later, but also The Vaughan Sisters was a portrait, and likely commissioned- which just goes to show that some artists (most even?) can change their style to suit the situation. Often when I'm teaching art to kids the subject of Picasso comes up- and they are mostly shocked to see his earlier works-in particular how realist they are- apparently they think that Picasso painted cubist works because that was as close as he could get to 'realism'???? Odd. But I digress...I really love the way you can see his style shift subtly between paintings, the beginnings of soft impressionist brushwork in the early works, and the bold brushwork of the later images.


Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here. 

Monday Inspiration: Henrietta Hancock Britton

Henrietta Hancock Britton, Portrait of Harry Britton, (source)

Henrietta Hancock Britton, Nova Scotia Farmyard with Turkeys and Pigs, circa 1920, (source)

I had actually heard of Henrietta Hancock Britton (born 1873 died 1963) before- it's such a fun name- very memorable. She lived in Brandon Manitoba for a time so I'm sure I've seen her name in the university somewhere, though I've not really seen her art before. It's fairly typical of the period- but those pigs are pretty charming. The turkeys are wonderfully painted as well, I would love to see more of her works- especially some sketches. I think with artists that paint in this manner their sketches really shine because they can capture something in two or three strokes, and still give their subjects such good animation.

Monday Inspiration: Doris McCarthy

Doris McCarthy, Hills at Dagmar, 1948, (source)

Doris McCarthy, Wave Movement #8, 1969, (source)

Doris McCarthy in Nunavut, 1976 (source)

Doris McCarthy, Iceberg with Moon, 2002, (source)

Another Kick-Ass Canadian woman artist. Doris McCarthy was born in 1910- and died in 2010, which means that she painted Iceberg with Moon when she was 92 years old! I love that- it makes me want to live up to that standard. The paintings themselves are somewhat 'traditional' Canadian Landscapes- though there is a big breadth to her work- you can see that she stretched in both directions as a painter- experimenting on either side of her comfort zone.

I love the colourful exuberance of the Hills at Dagmar, and the way that the landscape sort of twists in that image- reflecting the rolling quality of the hills. I love how the waves are distilled to their bare minimum in Wave Movement #8. In Iceberg with Moon, the Icebergs are so solid looking and yet slightly transparent, and also sliding slowly into the sea- it's a wonderful commentary on the solid impermanence of them.

Plus look at the image of her bundled up- painting icebergs in Nunavut, in the 70's- I mean really does it get more Iconically Canadian than that?


(for the most adorable elderly lady painter picture go here- awesome!)

Monday Inspiration: Mina Forsyth

Mina Forsyth, four sisters, 1972

Mina Forsyth, Champion fiddler, 1985 (source)

Mina Forsyth, Clear July Wash Day, 1985 (source)

Saskatchewan Artist Mina Mabel Forsyth was born in 1920 and passed away in 1987- she received her BFA from the University of Manitoba, and her MFA from Michigan State university, after which she taught at the the University of Saskatchewan.

I love these paintings- they are so full of life. I really enjoy it when you can see the painters brushwork; when you can imagine the movement that their arms made when that brushstroke was made. Paint is such an interesting medium because you can capture all that- the speed and intensity of the artist, whether they were enjoying it or not- you can always tell when a painting is worked to death by the artist- it just exudes that tight feeling of frustration- the layers of paint and short brushstrokes translate for you. These are so wonderfully loose- they seem effortless- like a breathing exercise- my shoulders relax just looking at them. The slightly out of control quality in these works makes them feel dream like to me- I feel that bouncy sort of feeling that would be present in a dream about hanging laundry on a clear July day- like your arms are made of elastic and they just stre-e-e-e-tch to put the laundry up.

The looseness of her brushwork is not really a bar to some serious feeling though- as the top image- Four Sisters- conveys such melancholy, it makes you wonder at the complexities of a sibling relationship. An ease sits in those sisters- but also a fine tension in the distance between them. It's beautiful work- and thought provoking as well which is such a wonderful balance.


(Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian Artists. Even after completing a BFA from a Canadian University I realized that I don't know much about Canadian art beyond the group of seven, so I'm setting out to remedy that- if you have an artist you think I should look up- let me know in the comments- Thanks!)

Monday Inspiration: Eva Theresa Bradshaw

Eva Theresa Bradshaw, Still life with Irises, (source)

Eva Theresa Bradshaw, Untitled- Summer's Reward, (source)

 There's not much info on this artist floating around, but I am struck by the fine quality of her Irises, I love the way the the irises seem to melt into the background in the upper left corner, and how she's captured the light. I really admire artists that can do justice to the subject- not ignore the background, and always keep their brushstrokes rough and painterly. It's such a challenge to do that- and the trick is to spell things out with the minimum of stokes; to be able to pare something down to it's visual basics is like turning a 100 pages into an eloquent 100 word synopsis- very difficult to do while still maintaining any kind of beauty.

Bradshaw was an artist from London Ontario born 1871- died- 1938, and painted mostly still life- she studied under London Ontario artists John and James Griffiths (I've also never heard of these guys- more artists to look up- it's a bit like a treasure hunt- this search for Canadian artists).

More info on the artist here- at the brilliant Canadian Women's Artist History Initiative.

Monday Inspiration: Lilias Torrance Newton

Lilias Torrance Newton, Two Little Sisters, 1920 (source)

Lilias Torrance Newton, Elise Kingman, 1930 (source)

Okay- sorry for the week off- we had a heck of a week here- and now are starting this one off with a big round of winter cold virus, I think the worst of it is over now- but there it is- a couple of nights sleeping sitting upright because the baby can't breath properly lying down, and can't nurse and so that means a lot of rocking- plus the already barnacle like behavior of the 1.5 yr old is amplified by feeling crappy, add in the crazy cold temperature outside, and it's enough to drive you bonkers, or into moving to Hawaii. Anyhow On with today's Artist- Lilias Torrance Newton was one of Canada's Premier Portrait painters- her work is phenomenal- rough but so accurate, painterly but still capturing the essence of the sitter- just plain lovely to boot- who wouldn't love one of these hanging on their wall? 

She was very prolific, another member of the Beaver Hall group, and highly esteemed within her lifetime, she painted the Queen, and she painted soldiers during the second world war (it says in her bio at the national gallery that she was an 'Honourary war artist'- which makes me wonder why the honourary?- also I could not find any images of her war work on line). She was basically a dynamo of Canadian Painting- She painted over 300 portraits during her lifetime and she lived a good long while (she died in 1980). 

I was starting to get a little annoyed that one could go through four years of university education in Canada and not actually have heard of her- but then I realized that during my education-unless it was Aboriginal art- we didn't hear of any Canadian Artists, period, maybe someone briefly mentioned the group of seven, but I do mean in passing, and very briefly. I wonder why- but also it gives the chance to remedy it now- so I think I will consciously try to use Canadian artists for my Monday inspirations this year- try to educate myself a little on what went on in this 'Wilderness'. 

(a little hint- if you click on (source) in any of the image captions it will take you to the original place of the image on line- and usually to a lot more info about the artist)

Monday Inspiration: Dante Rossetti

Dante Rossetti, The Bower Meadow, 1872, (source)

Dante Rossetti,  Astarte Syriaca, 1878, (source)

I sort of love the weirdly masculine, yet uber romantic female figures of Rossetti's paintings, I think he could only paint a beautiful pouting lip, even his self portrait has those lips. I feel as though the people he paints are not quite real exactly, they just seem like illustrations, but really really beautiful ones. He's an interesting figure- along with William Morris, and worth reading about-especially if unrequited love and star crossed lovers are your thing.

Monday Inspiration: Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha, Job, 1896, (source)

Alphonse Mucha, Portrait of Jiri, 1925, (source)

Alphonse Mucha, The Summer, 1896, (source)

Monday Inspiration: Manet

Edouard Manet, Olympia, 1863. (source)

Edouard Manet, Le Fifre, 1866. (source)

Manet is one of my all time favorite artists. I love his interpretation of the reclining Venus in Olympia, the way she is present in her sexuality, and seems to control it herself-represented by that barring hand which was so reviled by critics when the painting first came out. This painting is such a discussed image in art- I'm sure there are more thorough interpretations out there than mine, but I will say that to me Olympia is the continuation of Titian's Venus, the end result is a nude woman who I guess 'owns it' more or less. She seems to me to be the one who is deciding her fate as nude female subject, she is not a passive figure, she is aware that she is being viewed, which was a shocking departure from convention at the time.

I also love the little flute player- he is so sweetly serious in his  expression. The way that Manet rendered his works, as though they are seen in stark lighting, which gives them a flat quality, seems to me to be quite rich. His figures are also so alive, and at the same time slightly wooden, a contrast that I find really intriguing.

Monday Inspiration: Diego Velazquez

Diego Velasquez, Venus and her Mirror (The Rokeby Venus), 1650 (source)

 

Diego Velasquez, Vieja Friendo Heuvos (old lady frying eggs), 1618. (source)

Velasquez is mostly known for his portraits of the Spanish royal family, but the thing that I love most is the way that he treats his backgrounds, the scenes are full of objects, and fabrics that are painted with just as much care as his figures. The brushstrokes are painterly and lush, but the whole image feels very real, and every brushstroke counts. I love the shadow of the knife laying across the bowl, and the gauzy texture of the headscarf.

For some reason, Venus as a painting subject matter really fascinates me, in school I did a study of the rokeby Venus, and then went on to write papers about Giorgione, Titian and Manet's versions of Venus. Velasquez' Venus is sumptuous, and lovely, and trying replicate the subtle textures of the fabrics was a really great exercise. You get a feeling of what each fabric is- heavy velvet curtains, blue silk taffeta, and fine white bed linens, just through the way the light reflects on them, which is a pretty remarkable thing to translate into paint.  

In the Studio

I think I have to face the music and say that the clay work is going to be over until after the baby is born. I kind of hate saying that because I had just looked up a bunch of glaze recipes to try and bought some new stains that I wanted to check out- and I just bought more boxes of clay. But, in all honesty the physical nature of the work is probably too much for me right now. I'll have to save what energy I have for weeding (have you ever stood in your garden that needs weeding, and not been able to do it? It's darn hard to resist the urge to just bend down and pull out some plants).

I may get a couple more firings done before the baby arrives, those luminaries I made are just waiting to be loaded in the kiln and fired to cone 10, and then they'll be done and I'd love to have them finished this summer. But yesterday, when I realised that I would have to actually take it easier, not just think about taking it easier- I dug out the old samsonite cosmetic case I used for drawing and watercolour in university, and we had a little painting session.

I love the way that old case smells- musty and slightly unpleasant thrift store mixed with charcoal dust. It reminds me sharply of the basement drawing classes in university. The night classes, where we would all sit silently and draw in a darkened room, soft music playing whispering if we had to talk at all- our usual relationships and chat non-existent because of the models. I think it was my favorite part of school- the night classes, they were like a time out of time- occupying a space all their own.

I think I'll re-jig this case to allow for some outdoor work this summer- restock it with drawing and watercolour stuff and maybe make a special spot in it for the camera to sit as well. I've been thinking more and more about the camera as a creative tool- really trying to be mindful when I take my photos and edit them, to think of the end result as more than just documentation of my day.  So I'll put more energy into that camera work as well. It'll be nice to get into some paint again though,  a way to get some creative work in, while taking it easy.