A frequent comment to me is that my paintings look like a giclee--an ink jet printed COPY of an original. Absent in my works are the brushstrokes and textural elements of what people attribute to oil painting. I rub that all away. I thin my paint and layer my paint to create the spaces that transport a viewer into the nuances of color. Texture is a distraction to this journey--as is line. And yet, the precious handling of my surface and the almost perfection of the plane leads some to believe that a machine created it. Not a defense I like to have to attend to when talking about my work. Fine rubbed down into a veil of color should be an appreciation of my technical skill and less a comparison to an inexpensive reproduction.
But, people want to see that remnant of handmadeness because that equates to --what--originality, I guess. And yet, they don't want to pay for it. I don't make giclees of my work. There is no way to photographically capture the subtleties in my paintings, and therefore no way to accurately reproduce my work. An irony in this whole dialogue.
See here for another post on this painting.
 |
| A Glow Perpetuating Itself Into The Memory, 36 x 36 in oil on canvas |
I'm sorry people are so shallow as to look for what is common rather than see what is there. You don't have to explain, and those who see art through such a narrow frame of reference as you describe won't get it anyway. The very fact that you don't match the mold they are trying to fit you into is evidence of your originality and artistic strength.
ReplyDeleteYour work to me, definitely speaks about particular abstract qualities such as atmosphere, color field or figure-ground relationships. Even in this format (sorry I have not seen your work in the real) I can see that conversation in your work.
ReplyDeleteSo here is the rub, that artist seems to have a hard time with.
Often we must gently educate our audience.
Just keep bringing your voice to your vision, and it will work out.
Your post brings to mind the Anais Nin quote "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." It's a helpful meditation when dealing with certain kinds of people and especially the things they say. I've never felt I could accurately describe your paintings, all I ever come up with is that they evoke a sense of peace and calm for me, even the stormy ones.
ReplyDeleteIt will do me well to remember that saying, Anne. Miss seeing you. Let's have lunch sometime. What is your summer looking like?
DeleteThank you all for reading my bit o rant and reflecting back to me ideas with which to tend my tender ego, intent and passion.
ReplyDelete