Edison Jack Portrait

I've decided that I like to draw and paint living beings more than anything else. I like to do portraits of my dogs who I love very much as well as people that I love or am simply drawn to by their heart and their personality. I used to love to do landscapes first and foremost, and while I still enjoy them as I very much love to be surrounded by the beauty of the natural world, I seem to now be more strongly pulled to subjects who reflect their heart and soul in their eyes and the expression on their face. I love the hard work that goes into recreating a face that makes the viewer feel what is there inside my model, be it an animal or a human. I'm not sure I could draw or paint someone I didn't much care for as it would be very hard for me to bring that light forth when all I saw was something ugly (and I don't mean this in the sense of being physically "pretty"). Fortunately, I have yet to be faced with someone that I could not work with. But to be able to make a divinely beautiful soul shine through on paper or canvas, in pencil or paint, is truly an art and it's something that I am now seeking to perfect as much as I possibly am able with the skills I have.

Portrait of Edison Jack Looking Up, graphite on paper, 2009

Fictional Biographies of Artists

Here's the second list of some of my favorite art books, this time of the fictional biography/historical novel variety. Once again, in no particular order are some books I really enjoyed reading and that I think you will as well, especially if you like a little drama with your art.

Lust For Life: A Biographical Novel of Vincent van Gogh by Irving Stone
Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland (Pierre Auguste Renoir)
The Passion of Artemesia by Susan Vreeland (Artemesia Gentileschi)
The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey (Gustav Klimt)
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (Johannes Vermeer)
The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone
Johanna: A Novel of the van Gogh Family by Claire Cooperstein
Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham (loosely based on Paul Gauguin)

Monet and the Trains

I just read a story about Monet and the series of paintings he did of the Gare St.-Lazare in 1877. I'm not crazy about a lot of Monet's work, but these paintings really thrill me with their enormous vaulted ceilings and steam from the engines clouding so much of the details at platform level. They're simply fabulous, every one of them.

It was Renoir who told the story of Monet, always self-assured and certain of his destiny as a world-renowned painter even when he was a nobody, who managed to secure permission to paint these amazing canvases. He showed up at the station in his best clothes and asked to meet with the director of the Western Railway, saying that he was Monet, a very important painter. The head man, embarrassed to have it thought he was an idiot for not knowing who Monet was, ushered him in to his office and asked what he could do for him. Monet then proceeded to tell the director that he wanted to paint his station, having at first been unable to decide between St. Lazare and the Gare du Nord, but as his station had far more character, it was the one Monet had chosen. He then said he needed the trains to be held for half an hour while he worked. Amazingly, all was granted and he left the station amid regal bows to him and promises that they would do whatever he needed when he came to paint.

Sure enough, when he arrived at the appointed time, the trains were stopped and extra coal was shoveled into the engines constantly to keep the steam swirling. While he worked, everyone catered to his every need and he left with several canvases of this incredible scene.

Renoir finished the story by saying that he was in awe of Monet as he would never have even had the courage to ask his local grocer if he could paint his storefront from the sidewalk, let alone shut down an entire train station.

I love this story for several reasons. First, because I love these paintings and now I know the incredible chutzpah that went into their creation. I love a compelling backstory when it comes to amazing art. Second, because I too would feel like Renoir did, as I could never be so bold as Monet when painting in a public place (which can be unnerving at times even when you're just quietly doing your thing off in a corner). And third, because it shows the importance of believing in oneself and one's art. Despite what anyone else thinks, we must remain true to ourselves and do what we need to do to fulfill our creative urge, however daunting it might be.

Encaustics IV

Last year I posted a few photos of some encaustics I did for a solo show and this is another one from that series. I don't usually post actual artwork here, only sketches and art journal pages, but occasionally I make an exception to my own rule. Today I felt like breaking the rules.

Pastel Self Portrait (Again)

I've done a little bit more work on this piece since it was last seen here. I actually would have done more in the way of completing it, but when I finally sat down with a fairly sizable block of time to work on it, I realized that I have very few flesh tone pastels as I seldom do portraits in this medium. Since I can't really make my face just pale yellow and a sort-of flesh-toney pink (well, I could actually if I wished to go that route, but I don't), I was forced to stop working after one quick undercoat. I fiddled with the background a bit, but otherwise it's been shelved till I get to the store and pick up a selection of portrait shades of pastels, preferably in my actual flesh tones.

Non-fiction Artist Biographies

Being the list-loving girl I am, I thought it might be interesting to compile a list of my favorite art books. And then I thought, even better still, I'd split it into two lists: one for non-fiction and one for fiction. It was harder than I thought to narrow both lists down to a manageable number of good books, so if I'm so inclined, the continuation of these book lists may appear at a future date. In fact, I could start a third list about what I consider to be the best technical books. Or even my favorite anthologies of artists' works. Maybe eventually I'll cover them all. After all, I could read nothing but art books of one genre or another every day for the rest of my life, so the lists could, in theory, go on forever and ever.

Here, in no particular order, is my winnowed down first list of some great non-fiction, biographical books on a wide range of artists. I highly recommend them all.

Jackson Pollock: An American Saga by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith
Diane Arbus: A Biography by Patricia Bosworth
Leonardo: Discovering the Life of Leonardo da Vinci by Serge Bramly
Renoir, My Father by Jean Renoir
Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography by Gail Levin
The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Arles by Martin Gayford
Chagall: A Biography by Jackie Wullschlager
Off The Wall: A Portrait of Robert Rauschenberg by Calvin Tomkins
Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X by Deborah Davis
Impressionist Quartet: The Intimate Genius of Manet and Morisot, Degas and Cassatt by Jeffrey Meyers

Little Head Study of Bram

This is a just slightly larger than life-sized sketch of Bram's head. I love the way he posed for the original photograph (I may actually end up with two dogs who will sit beautifully and take direction when I shoot them!), but I must admit that his eyes were a challenge to draw as they reflected absolutely no light whatsoever in the shot. I redid them a hundred times and I'm still not happy with his left one, but it is what it is. Time to move on.

Little Head Study of Bram, graphite on paper, 2009