› Sorting out
September 5, 2000
Dear Artist,
When traveling, I've found it's a good idea to
call them "material" so as not to
confuse them with finished paintings. At home,
they're laid out like so many fish on a dock.
Some are even a bit rank. The first thing I do is
pick out the ones that are nearly okay and put
them to one side. These will be the first I
finish off, sign and varnish. Those few give a
kind of confidence to the whole effort. I've
found it's often among the next few--the ones
requiring more thinking--that the better
paintings will come about. Before I go on to talk
about them I ought to mention that there are the
last few--hopeless cases--where nothing much can
ever be done. Their main fault is that they are
already too overworked--so no amount of glazing
or overpainting will fix them. In some of them
it's a matter
of scale--the subject matter is too small for my
chosen sketch size-11" x 14". I'll save
these as reference for possible larger works.
The hard cold fact is that many of these from the
Mackenzie trip will have to be burned. This I do.
Now back to those middle ones. It's like a mini
juried show--and I'm the only juror. Having been
tucked away for a while some appear relatively
fresh when floundering on the floor. Every plein
air effort gets the benefit of a variety of
solutions with the juror's studio eye. Elements
are mentally taken out and put in. Skies are
repainted. Things are punched in, toned down,
brightened up. Complexity is added, reduced. Glazes and scumbles
are planned. Works are moved, juxtaposed one to
the other, some on the secondary easel, some
forever floored. It's fun. The only tools so far
called into play are a match and a good cigar.
Best regards,
Robert
PS: "If it can be well enough dreamed; it can
be easily enough done."
Esoterica: The "second opinion" is an
accepted concept in the medical profession. I
don't believe in it for the art profession. The
main job is to learn to be your own best critic.
That way you get your stuff the way you want it.
Stephen Vizinczey wrote ten commandments which
apply to artists. The last two are: "Thou
shalt paint to please thyself," and
"Thou shalt be hard to please."
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
› No problem
I never have these kinds of problems. When I
start a painting, I finish it 90% of the time.
The ones I don't get to finish on my first
attempt because of some unforseen interruption, I
always finish in my second or third try because I
knew what the theme was going to be from day one.
MICO, NYC
› All perfect
I find if I don't get them right the first
time—I'll never get them
right—ever. This hasn't happened to me
for some years. However they turn out is the way
they were meant to be—and that's okay
with me. I've stopped being too judgemental
and now they are all perfect.
A Reinhard, Coln
› Dangerous habit
The danger with stewing about paintings, dividing
them into groups and actually chucking some is
that you sometimes lose the spontaineity and the
gestural quality that made it all work in the
first place. As a teacher and juror I know that
the three main problems that get art rejected all
the time are overworking, overworking, and
overworking. This overworking is often due to too
much thinking. Thinking is generally, although
not always, bad for you.
Andrew
› A similar process
The process you mention has a parallel in
filmmaking. Raw material or "footage"
is generated first of all, often in quantity. But
it is in "post production" where the
work takes form. Through the contrivance of
montage, editing, sound embellishment and other
skills the work rises to a whole which is greater
than its parts. Through this process the work
becomes more sophisticated and controlled—at
the same time, if he or she has influence on the
process, it takes on the personality of the auteur.
Casual motifs and gestures can either be kept in
or left out. It is also at this time that
artistic licence has a chance to flourish;
further "second generation" risks are
taken, and full realization occurs. In painting,
a few splodges and spashes, as in film right out
of the camera, do not necessarily make
satisfactory art.
Michael Green, Harvard
› Second opinion at hand
If a person has the good fortune to have a
seasoned professional for a mentor, then a
"second opinion" around the studio is
invaluable. It's my wife.
Hans Muller
(RG note) An elderly
friend, Geoffrey Rock, passed away last week. A
master in oils, he was one of those delicate,
dedicated painters who fretted and worried about
every painting. Talking to his wife Joan over the
last few days I was surprised to learn how much
he depended on her to vet his paintings. He
frequently asked her to come into the studio and
pass an opinion. According to her she was
sometimes a bit harsh, and there would be a bit
of a dust-up, and Joan would leave. After a while
Geoff would come sheepishly out and announce that
she had been right and that he had fixed the
problem. "It was love at first sight for
Geoff and I," she said about meeting in
London during the war—"we have been
inseparable ever since."
› Ten Commandments
You mentioned Stephen Vizinczey had written ten
commandments for artists. What are they?
Leo Plaw, Australia
(RG note) They’re
not actually for artists—they’re for
writers. I transpose "write" to
"paint" and they work magnificently
with only a few backslides. I've dined out
on these. Thanks again Stephen.
- Thou shalt not
drink, smoke or take drugs.
- Thou shalt not have
expensive habits.
- Thou shalt dream
and write and dream and rewrite.
- Thou shalt not be
vain.
- Thou shalt not be
modest.
- Thou shalt think
continually of those who are truly great.
- Thou shalt not let
a day pass without rereading something
great.
- Thou shalt not
worship London/New York/Paris.
- Thou shalt write to
please thyself.
- Thou shalt be hard
to please.
› Funny title
I like the funny titles that you sometimes put to
artist's letters Robert, but one in the last
was unintelligable to me: "The Moon and
6M." Please explain.
Del Weinstein, Los
Angeles
(RG note) Somerset
Maugham's "The Moon and Sixpence,"
was a play based loosely on the life of Gauguin.
Emphasizing his poverty, it did a great deal to
promote the Gauguin legend which arose shortly
after his death. I was trying to put in a bit
about artists at the other end of the economic
scale. Sorry; a bit obtuse.
ý
If you would like to see selected correspondence
relating to the previous letter
"Going home" please click here http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/home.htm
You may be interested to
know that artists from 70 countries have visited
these sites since March 30, 2000. That includes
Tania of Victoria, BC, who notes that a match has
a double duty, and J C Brown of Huddersfield,
England, who started thinking about a field
sketch eight years ago and hasn't done anything
with it yet, and George of hotmail country who
burned them all and felt fine about it.
You can subscribe
directly to the free Robert Genn Twice Weekly
Letter at subscribe@saraphina.com
|