› Purity
August 29, 2000
Dear Artist;
Allen Sapp, one of
Canada’s most collected aboriginal painters,
was given encouragement and support in his youth
by a young doctor who believed in him. He was
supplied with burnt sienna, ultramarine blue,
yellow ochre, black and white. Allen worked with
this palette for some time before he found there
were others available. Today, forty years later,
his color range is still modest, but his
imagination is great. I think that the remarkable
strength of his painting is at least partly due
to the self training that took place under this
early limitation.
I’m in the
easel-station of Alexander Mackenzie
trying to get the most out of a simple palette.
It’s not out of privation--we have on board
virtually every pigment that one manufacturer
makes. I’m consciously trying to pull
paintings together with body color of Jenkins
Green and Burnt Sienna. I’m mostly glazing
with Quinacridone Gold and Phthalo Blue.
There’s none of what psychologists call
"analysis paralysis" here. Both Sara
and I have noted they’re flowing like
hot-cross buns.
The predominant shifts
are mainly determined by the time of day, the
interaction of the sky and the water, the
mother-color of the dominant elements. Over the
days of this journey a kind of energetic serenity
has set in. Something happens with the mixture of
space and time. I feel a sense of story. Others
have told me you can feel it in your brush, and I
do now. A family of mergansers swims close
by--the young are almost ready to fly south.
Perhaps you have felt it too--it has something to
do with purity.
Best regards,
Robert
PS: "I can’t tell a story in the
white man’s language, so I say what I want to say with my paintings."
(Allen Sapp)
Esoterica: In Cree
philosophy, of which Allen is a proponent, they
often refer to their god as "The
Owner." This spirit is the source of the
land, its fruits and all its beings. The job of
humans, apart from the requirement of getting
along with each other, is to honor and respect
his efforts. Here, in this remote corner of the
owner’s garden there’s not a plastic
bag or a tin can. I have a distinct feeling of
guilt when I release the last of my paint-water
into the pristine stream.
The following are
selected correspondence relating to the above
letter. If you find value in any of this please
feel free to copy to a friend or fellow artist.
We have no other motivation than to give creative
people an opportunity to share ideas and possibly
broaden their capabilities. Thank you for writing
rgenn@saraphina.com
› Be concerned and paint
"In the late 16th century the brothers
Carracci established the academies and the
apprentices spent many years learning the
'rules’ of the Arts. It was only the very
few indeed that ever recovered sufficiently from
this experience to become great painters.
It’s interesting to note that the Academies
were established in Italy in the 16th century and
from that time Italy lost its position as the
'Power-house' of the Arts, which it had held
since the 13th century. If the learning process
destroys the excitement, the involvement, the
ability to respond, then we lose by that
learning. This does not mean that the painter
must work with no rules, but rather from
historical example and his own concerns. Many a
student, in his excitement and innocence, has
broken almost all the rules and as a result has
produced important work. The one rule that was
not broken was that he was concerned. The only
rule which I would write for the would-be
painter- is: ‘Be concerned and
paint’." (Gordon J Wootton, ARCA.)
Contributed by Victor
Morgan, Caerleon, Gwent, Great Britain.
› Sapp’s legacy(1)
I’m surprised that you would feature Allen Sapp. Without the
active guidance of his dealers who tell him what to paint and title
his paintings for him, set him up with the Order of Canada etc.,
Sapp would still be an unknown back on the reserve. It’s a
good example of cashing in on an innocent native by keeping him
on track.
JP
› Sapp’s legacy(2)
Sapp’s work, while essentially unschooled,
is indeed remarkable in its simplicity and
honesty, and makes a bridge between Western Art
and the naïve and spiritual art of the plains
Indians. His work is academically sound though in
no way sophisticated, his technique remains
consistent, and this together with the memories
of his life on the reserve which he makes real
for us, lifts his work to a level of charm and
memorability.
Per Davidson
(RG note) Allen
Sapp’s work can be seen at www.assiniboia.com
› Communion
There is more to painting in the out-of-doors
than first meets the eye. When someone goes to
great effort to be where others have not
been—and sits at the very foot of Nature and
struggles with Her moods and details—no
matter how jaded or commercial his or her motives
might be—there is a communion to be had that
cannot be at all an unrewarding or bad pursuit
for the likes of mankind.
William Watt, Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico
› Glasses
As an older Artist, I began wearing glasses. My paintings became
very sharp, scientific, boring and too perfect looking (very photo-realistic)
Realizing that Artists work with the right side of the brain, and
with color receptors in the eyes, I took off the glasses.
Glasses were for the black and white receptors of
the eye, weak because I am a colorist. One doctor
explained that an Artist, working in color,
develops those sections, already strong, related
to the reception of light fractions, and the
Color Cones become the dominant gland in the
eyes...thus, glasses, focusing with the weak
black and white areas, blur and distort my
natural color ability. In other words, an
Artist's (colorist's) eyes are the exact opposite
of 'Color Blindness' A true colorist is black and
white blind!
I now wear glasses to read your letters, but keep
my colors real and natural without them. So now
you know my secret, I paint with my God given
gift of color reception, no glasses. My paintings
are glowing with the skill hidden, before, by the
lens!
I. Jean Pastula Ph.D.
(RG note) A book about artists' sight—with
valuable historical references-- is "The World Through Blunted
Sight," by Patrick Trevor-Roper
›
Primaries
I wrote a curriculum and taught children's
multi-media workshop this summer for two weeks. I limited them to
primary colors--cool in both transparent watercolor and opaque acrylic.
Ages 6 1/2 to 12. You should have seen the myriad of mixes for greens
and violets and oranges. Great learning experience that all adult
painters should definitely try.
Leni Friedland, Mt.
Sinai, NY
› Art Deco
Being a self taught artist, I began my artistry with black ink on
paper. I continued to use only ink because I needed to express the
basic contrast of black versus white. I did all design works like
this for at least 20 years. It wasn't until I wanted to show my
works that I moved very slowly into painting with oil and acrylics.
The colours first used were gold and gray in combination with black
and white. I felt that the colour distracted from the work, so it
was introduced very slowly.
With the execution of my 5' x 5' piece called
"Timeless", which is a story line of
Hollywood for the 20th century, I played with
colour extensively and found that working with
many colours was difficult. I still prefer today
to work only with a minimum amount of colours. I
presently use a limited array of iridescent
colours as they were the most predominant colours
during the Art Deco period.
Colour has a great deal of impact with what you are trying to get
across to the public. Being a new age Art Deco artist who eats,
sleeps and thinks in Deco, the iridescent are reminisent of the
artistry which was first introduced in the 1920s and '30s. By affiliating
the colours to the work and unifying the past to the present, the
old becomes new. As a point of interest to all who read this, during
the 1920s, King Tut’s tomb was found and the colours which
came from this discovery assisted in bringing the iridescent into
the world of Art Deco. I maintain this in my work so the past is
not forgotten.
To some, I would be considered a purest artisan
because I maintain a reason why specific colours
are used, thereby maintaining the story of the
past and keeping the true essence of this
artistry alive for the future.
A large array of colour is only necessary as you
see it, and for some artists, least is best.
Bonita Silver
› Limited palette
I’ve found that I can achieve practically any colour with white,
yellow ochre, burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and burnt umber...I
keep tubes of cadmium red and yellow, as well as cerulean and cobalt
blues for some variance when needed. But for me, understanding the
nature of a limited palette brings the freedom of knowing exactly
what that hue will do in any given circumstance. Frees me up to
get to the "real" work, if you will...I am a realist,
and perhaps my objective is more about "what" I'm saying,
rather than "how" I say it.
Judy Lalingo, Ontario
› Don’t fix it
I selfishly locked my studio door and have been
painting these last weeks, oblivious to the world
and my other responsibilities. Those of you who
are busy know how much time gets eaten out of
just getting to work on the art. So I feel no
remorse, at least none that my therapist can't
fix for a few hundred dollars. I only regret that
I may have failed you in taking the time to make
my own art. I promise I'll make it up to you. I
always do in spades and through years of
counseling it works out.
Gerard Pas
› Analysis paralysis
Some people are so analysis prone that they make
themselves into lousy artists. Creativity
involves jumping in and letting the intuition
take over. This may of course be tempered with a
lifetime of practice and experimentation—but
the important thing is still commitment before
the paralysis shows up.
J Coulombe, Lyons,
France
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If you would like to see selected correspondence relating to the
previous letter "Holiday" please click here http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/holiday.htm
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