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| In Widening Circles, oil on canvas, 18x18 in |
Yesterday I took the ferry to Friday Harbor with my children and a good friend--who also collects my work. We went for the ride, and lunch, and to look at some galleries and art. Before I had a chance to tell one of the gallery owners about my work, she opined about how done she was with landscapes. Said she's embracing abstracts now--everything's about surface tension, texture and such. From what I could see in the gallery it was about the suggestion of landscape albeit with stenciled numbers/ ship markings on some and heavily varnished collage on others. The landscape was still there, however--and I told her so. A friend says the shift toward abstract is because all the television shows are staging their sets with abstract works which is influencing what people want to decorate their homes. What happened to artistic intent? and meaningful expression? Ultimately, is it really all about decoration?
So, today, in tribute to that ferry ride and all the glory of the San Juan Islands and the poetry of Rilke, I painted this--a landscape--or is it?
From Rilke:
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
I circle around the primordial tower.
I've been circling for thousands of years
and I still don't know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
Funny, as a non-representative artist, I've heard that my stuff is difficult to sell so the colors should be calmer so as not to clash with the sofa. I'm afraid that artists can be brave about what they display in their homes but other people may feel less so.
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