Aidez-moi, s.v.p.!

Help!

Those of you who read last night's post have seen the strange painting begun under the influence of Clausen and Bastien-Lepage.

You may recall that my point was that we should each place ourselves way out of our comfort zone from time to time. For me, that means portraits and figures. So I essayed a figure in a landscape, one with a high horizon. 

I mostly embarrassed myself, but I think it got a bit better today.

Nonetheless, I need some help from the portrait painters among you. I promise to reciprocate when you have problems with a meadow---honest.

Anyway, the 18 year-old "made up" young man is coming along...sort of. He seems to have come to rest somewhere between 1930's American Regionalism
and a Pre-Raphaelite sensibility. And all I had wanted was George Clausen's honesty. 

Here's a detail, with the boy's noggin, as it was when I headed home tonight (about half-size).

 

As it turns out it's very soft, but that rather fits with the idealized sense I have of the painting and with the rather palpable innocence of the young man.

So I beseech the portrait painters among you to come to my aid. While 

keeping the feeling, what should I do? Because the whole process is so terrifying for me, I get very timid about corrections (needed though they be). So I need you to tell me in no uncertain terms.

And, like I said, if you need help with a brook or a mountainside, I'm here to help.
 

Thanks.

 

For the longest time---despite the fact that I couldn't paint a portrait, or a figure---I wanted to paint like Sargent. I wanted that luscious swoop of a loaded brush, conquering all before it. I wanted the sureness and the bravado, and the whole alchemy of his technique. 

I never really tried to paint in Sargent's manner (aside from anything else I couldn't afford all that paint), but I'm sure I secretly believed that JSS, or Zorn, or Sorolla was lurking within me,  just waiting for me to liberate him.

It took me many years to realize that I painted best when I was most true to myself. That meant in terms of both subject and technique. As much as I might admire the bravura stroke, it's not part of my personality.

It's a hard lesson to learn, this realizing that maybe you aren't going to be a giant, that you won't be the John Sargent of your time.

But look at it another way. Sargent became Sargent by being true to himself. Perhaps Sargent pined to be John Kensett or Ingres, but found the goal at odds with his own temperament.

Thus do we all hope to find that particular marriage between our temperament and our talent.

Remember that your best work will be found where they converge.

 

 

 

 

 

A Miscellany

If, by any chance, you're not enjoying our cold New England weather, be advised that there are a couple of spots left for the 70-degree painting adventure we have planned for Savannah, two weeks from now. For more information, have a look at the workshop blog.

A Number of Things...

First, my thanks to everyone who communicated their reasons for not drawing trees this week. The excuses were manifold and I treasure each one.

Second, the blog has followers around the world. We have regular visitors from Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, Indonesia, India, Iran, France, and a host of others.

But none of the tree drawings I received came from outside the U.S.

I was never particularly good at geography in school, but I'm pretty sure that there are trees in those countries. So just a gentle hint: if you send them, I'll post some. (Let me know if you want credit, or just your place of origin.) dbjurney@verizon.net

Here are several drawings I did receive. The first, a maple tree, is from Mary Graham, a professional artist from New Hampshire, USA.

The snow at the base reminds us how very cold it's been in New England.

The remaining two are by Frank Hyer, an architect from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Frank is reasonably new to oil painting, but he clearly can manage his drawing materials.

Thanks to both Mary and Frank.

Now Latvia, Greenland, the Netherlands and the UK, you need to step up. You know who you are.

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On a different subject, many of you know that I am a big fan of Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848-1884) and George Clausen (1852-1944). I particularly am fond of their single-figure paintings, with high horizons, tilting the figure into our space.

Here's a favorite George Clausen:

And two gems by Bastien-Lepage:

Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow

National Galleries of Scotland

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Today, when I should have been drawing trees, or stretching canvas, I was day-dreaming about Clausen, and Bastien, and James Guthrie, too.

Now anyone who knows me at all knows I don't (read: can't) paint the figure. I can't even draw the figure. So there wasn't much good likely to come out of today's experiment.

Nonetheless, while I metaphorically waited for paint to dry, I seized upon a 20x25" landscape start, from some rainy day last summer. This painting needed more than even the Dead Paintings Society could hope to supply. So I stood it on end, and proceeded to have a wonderful time making a really poor figure in a landscape. First, when I put the head in, I didn't think about where the figure was within the painting. Second, since I had no model, and thus had to make it all up, the inadequacies of my skills made a thousand problems.

On the other hand, though, it doesn't count! Too often I, and I suspect you, forget to just have fun. Because the painting had to reach no particular standard, I could just play with it.

So go ahead and laugh...you there in Mumbai, and Vilnius, and Bandar-e Anzali. I don't care. I had fun. So what if he has a melting shoulder, crazy elbow, etc.? Who cares that the two-board fence was the only solution that came to mind for the bottom of the canvas?

Okay, stop laughing.

The reason I opened myself up to your ridicule is to remind you to occasionally work way outside your comfort zone.

For a change, why not just have fun? Take a chance on making a fool of yourself.

 
....in the studio, of course, with the door double-locked.

p.s. A correspondent tells me that if you order a copy of the drawing book on blurb.com they'll give you a chance to order a second one at half-price. Seems a good strategy to try with a friend. Pleased to see that the book has made it to Blurb's bestsellers list.  Drawings...who knew?