March 29, 2002
Dear Artist,
The making of art can be divided into three main camps: Subject driven, style driven and idea driven.
Subject matter is a secure camp. There can also be ever-widening sorties to find subjects that provide further interest and challenge. An upcoming trip to Europe builds anticipation that the holy grail of painting may be found in some Spanish village or Irish bog. Many are on this crusade. It's not without its charms. Great to come back with a full creel--sublimated evidence for the modern day hunter-gatherer.
The style-driven camp forages for subjects suitable for the infliction of their style. Personal style gives personal pride and a feeling of uniqueness. While this camp may be occasionally troubled with the limitations, they name consistency as a virtue and often give themselves more possibilities of commercial success.
Then there are those that break camp and move into the castles of their minds. Photographer Richard Avedon said: "Start with a style and you are in chains, start with an idea and you are free." In the land of mind, ideas are kings and their vassals need only to search their capabilities for effective ways of illustration. They might even direct foot soldiers to do the slogging for them.
In truth, subject matter and style combine to generate ideas and those ideas in turn generate the miracles of mind. G. K. Chesterton said: "In the long vigil the artist may have to vary his methods of stimulation." It remains that art is pulled higher by itself. Process prods quality. Quality of thought and quality of execution. In the garret or in the bog it's valuable for artists to develop an intuition for this: a third eye, a sixth sense--the persistence of wonder.
Best regards,
Robert
PS: "What we need is more sense of the wonder of life, and less of the business of making a picture." (Robert Henri)
Esoterica: Subject matter, when seen as a means to an end, serves. When seen only as something that has to be got right, inhibits. "An artist must actively caress wonder." (Eric Maisel) "I never get tired of the blue sky." (Vincent van Gogh)
The following are selected responses to the above and other letters. Thank you for writing rgenn@saraphina.com
+Don't analyze wonder
I do not like to analyze. I think it is like love. If we begin to analyze this true feeling then love can be destroyed by our reflections. Also it is like the flight of the birds. The birds do not think why they take flight. They do it. The analysis of feelings is a dangerous experiment for any artist. For example, we could separate a flower to different pieces because we would like to analyze it. Will we have the possibility to collect all the pieces again so that it could be the flower again? I think it is not possible. We kill the flower by the analysis.
Catherine Yakovina, St Petersburg, Russia Catherine_Yakovina@tcart.com
+Beyond our limitations
Wonder takes us beyond our limitations by providing an expansive breath of fresh air to
sustain the soul of creativity, and creativity allows the spirit to thrive.
Radha (Linda Saccoccio) NYC, USA saccoccio@earthlink.net
+Wonder in subconscious
Our sense of wonder exists in our subconscious. It is natural to being human. We stymie
our sense of wonder by allowing in the impedimenta of everyday life. A great deal of the
artist's job is made of filtering out those things that interfere with the sense of
wonder. "The unconscious is really most marvelous. Waiting there ready to be tapped
is all knowledge, all feeling, all understanding… the artist has only to respect it
and let it out." (Maryon Kantaroff)
Michael Fenton, London, UK
+Wonder of first framing
I just had the experience of seeing my work matted and framed for the first time. I painted paintings for my three sisters to commemorate five years of a luncheon to raise money for breast cancer. It was a very emotional feeling to be able to honor them this way so the process was very personal. When I took them to be framed it was exciting to choose the proper mat and frame. However, nothing prepared me for the overwhelming feelings that I felt when I saw the finished products. Beyond the excitement and pleasure in the framer doing a good job was the pride and satisfaction that I felt toward my own work. I can not wait to experience these emotions again.
Gaylynn Robinson JRFAM@aol.com
+Subject matter
I realize that all realist paintings have subject matter, I just find a tree, rock or
whatever a shallow effort to avoid a more challenging subject matter of feelings, I am
always looking for art that says something, and all I am seeing is pretty pictures. I
guess I feel "subject matter" should be like a subject in a book, and there are
books out there that don't say anything, but I have no interest in them. So then I
start feeling like I am the only one in the world and that I am right and the landscape
painters are wrong. Another thing what is it with this style, everybody looks like they
took the same painting workshop, doesn't anybody have their own way of painting? Your
last letter sort of touched on a bit of what I was thinking, and I guess as I mentioned
before I am doing what I am doing, to be apart from everyone else as a way of dealing with
my inferiority complex, and the feeling if there were other people doing what I was doing,
only better, there was no use in me doing it. I have to be the best in the world in what I
do. So far I have found no competition, so I am painting like crazy. I guess the reason I
am being over critical of everyone's paintings is that, in putting everyone else
down, I am raising myself up, and this will continue until my self esteem raises to a
level that I feel comfortable with. And by writing this letter I have just sorted out the
mystery of why I am always putting down everybody else's art work.
Jim Rowe jim.rowe2@sympatico.ca
+Sister Wendy Beckett
I've just gotten Sister Wendy Beckett's "The Story of
Art". Seeing the superb reproductions and enlarged details of wonderful artwork is a
humbling experience. What ideas, style, and subject matter those masters of history have
utilized! This entertaining, readable book is packed with facts, biography, and timelines.
Today I'm torn between1. Breaking all my brushes, and 2. Feeling as if I'm a (microscopic)
part of the flow of history.
Joy Cooper, Valley Head, West Virginia, USA joycooper@nakiska.com
+Can't resist the possibilities
I love oil paint! Just squirting it out of the tube increases my
heart rate. Seeing all those beautiful colors and the thought of a masterpiece. Who is it
that can resist the possibilities? Selecting just the right brush, filling it full of that
luscious, sensuous oil paint and spreading it on a blank canvas...sheer heaven! Being
blessed with the desire to express my thoughts and feeling in such an imaginative and
creative way is truly a privilege. Making a painting is both humbling and exhilarating.
Making a painting has an elusive quality that leaves you looking over the next hill.
Making a painting teaches you a lot about life if you allow it. Making a painting is
somewhat of a self-portrait without painting your own face. Making a painting is
wonderful!
Debbie High debbiehigh@msn.com
+Change of style
Oh how I agree with Richard Avedon. My style changes so very often that you can not tell my work without reading my signature. But if one was to view my life's work then they would, I believe, find my style. I love the freedom of change because I get bored so easily.
Moncy Barbour JBar143946@aol.com
+Stink-bomb
The other evening I went to a get-together of painters at a friend's
house. I expected that everyone was bringing slides of recent work, so we could share our
latest tangents and get some positive feedback. I was the only one presenting
representational images. It was a very unpleasant and embarrassing experience - it was as
though I had let off a stink-bomb! Has anyone else had the same experience with art nazis?
Markus Tessman deirdre@saltspring.com
+Ponyeasel
I recently purchased a Ponyeasel from the manufacturer in Pasadena, California and
am very pleased! It is a bench style easel that folds and is portable so I can use it both
inside and out of doors. The surface washes nicely so it looks great in my small art
studio at home. I'm new to the art world, but thought that this is such a great find, that
I should pass it along.
Nancy Dittemore ndittemo@lasierra.edu
(RG note) You can find information on a Ponyeasel at http://ponyeasel.com/about.html
+Contest entries
Wagon at Taos, W/C, Gary Myers, Dallas, TX illiguy@earthlink.net
Long Beach, acrylic, Andrea Pratt, egad@planeteer.com
Playing, Oil, Claudia Mannion, Nova Scotia klodjaa@hotmail.com
Swamped Dingy, Oil, Susan Holland, Issaquah, WA HOLLANDART@aol.com
The eyes have it, W/C, Liz Beceden, Springhill, Florida VW85@earthlink.net
(RG note) The above are a few more of the 350 or so entries that have come in since the contest was announced. They are not necessarily finalists in the "Free Painting Workshop in Brittany with Robert Genn" contest. You can get more information on this contest and workshop at
http://www.painterskeys.com/workshops.htm The contest is open until June 15, 2002. All finalists will receive a free copy of The Painter’s Keys book. The workshop takes place from September 20th to 30th, 2002. Cost of the workshop is US$2350. The Robert Genn information for Phil Levine Workshops Inc. is at http://www.paintingfrance.com/Robert_Genn.htmPlease note that in the event that the winner of the contest has already signed up for the Brittany Workshop, his or her deposits will be refunded and air transportation from anywhere in the world will be looked after as well. Artists entering the contest who wish to send regular photos of their work may send it to R Genn, 12711 Beckett Rd., Surrey, B C. Canada, V4A 2W9. These will be scanned and transferred to our contest archive. Thanks.
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The Painter’s Guide to Color, by Stephen Quiller is a definitive guide to understanding color. 144 pages packed with valuable information by the popular color wizard. Sells for $24.95US.
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